Terence Rattigan’s drama begins when Hester Collyer (Katy Watkins, who plays her as nervous, anguished but resolute) is discovered lying before a gas fire, a shocking opening to this story of a woman who defies husband, society and reason to pursue her passion, though the younger man concerned, Freddie (Ian Fraser) cannot reciprocate, having only managed to replace the excitements of his RAF career with golf and drink.

Rattigan must have had strong feelings about this “homme fatale”, and Freddie’s brutal side is an interesting precursor to Jimmy Porter, Osborne’s “angry young man”

who did so much to eclipse this writer’s reputation. However, despite this and two other strongly drawn males (Steve Clark, the bewildered husband, and David Baldwin, particularly effective as Miller, the kindly neighbour) the heart of this play is its understanding of its heroine’s emotions, which director Lisbeth Rake and Watkins bring to life so compellingly here.