IN their 50th year, East Essex Players make a rare departure from comedy to present a suspense thriller.

The House Guest is a classic example of the work of Francis Durbridge, one of Britain’s most popular writers for radio, TV and stage in the Fifties and Sixties. He is perhaps best remembered as creator of smooth society detective Paul Temple and his glamorous wife, Steve.

The House Guest follows the strange circumstances after a kidnapping. Director Hazel Latcham says: “The kidnappers don’t want a ransom. They want to occupy the house where they’re holed up for 48 hours. Nobody can work out why. Characters get stabbed, strangled and shot. The corpse count is very high.”

First staged in the Fifties, the House Guest has been carefully modernised. Hazel says: “For instance, instead of a character saying the phone box is out of order, they complain they can’t get a mobile signal.” East Essex Players chose a thriller – after a long run of successful comedies – because, Hazel says, “we wanted to do something that involved real acting”.

However, there is comic relief in the shape of a “batty old woman”, played by East Essex’s most illustrious performer, Jean Colclough. Jean, who last year made headlines at home and abroad as Britain’s longest-serving nurse, is a founder-member of the Players and their longest-serving performer.

The House Guest
Palace Theatre (Dixon Studio), Westcliff.
Until Sat at 7.30pm, mat Sat 2.30pm.
01702 351135