Rebecca, The Mayflower, Southampton

"LAST night I dreamt I went to Manderley" - the beginning to Daphne Du Maurier's classic Gothic love story Rebecca is etched in the memory of anyone who has read the book.

Despite the deceptively simple set, consisting of a screen onto which rolling waves were projected and a bank of pebbles, it was possible to believe that the beautiful Cornish mansion was there.

Elisabeth Dermot-Walsh effortlessly played the nave little shadow that is the second Mrs De Winter. She develops the character from being an ill-bred innocent to the commanding new mistress of Manderley.

Nigel Havers started off a little stilted but soon warmed to his role as the haunted Maxim De Winter, the widowed husband of Rebecca.

His Maxim is likeable, not so distant and brittle as that of the book.

The production has been adapted for the stage by Frank McGuinness. He has brought out a lot of the humour of the story which is overshadowed by the brooding darkness of the novel.

Particularly effective in this respect are Amanda Waldy as Maxim's sister Beatrice and Ian Barritt as her long-suffering husband Giles.

Maureen Beattie steals the show as Mrs Danvers, the housekeeper who has a passionate admiration for her first mistress. Her stony expression and viper-like delivery of lines are chilling.

Rebecca's ghostly presence is strong throughout and her insidious influence threatens to break Maxim and his new bride.

The fast pace of this adaptation doesn't allow you to draw breath before it takes you to its tragic conclusion. You will be absorbed and may well find Manderley haunting your dreams.