ONE of the greatest thrillers of all time to hit the stage is now on tour and scheduled for a stay locally.

Gaslight is back on the rounds starring the celebrated stage and television actress Kara Tointon, who plays Bella Manningham, memorably portrayed by Oscar winner Ingrid Bergman in the classic 1944 film adaptation.

Rupert Young of BBC 1’s Merlin joins Kara as husband Jack Manningham and the multi-talented Keith Allen is cast in the role of Detective Rough when Gaslight opens for a week long run at Malvern’s Festival Theatre from Monday, February 27 until Saturday, March 4.

While Jack Manningham (Rupert Young) is on the town each evening his wife Bella (Kara Tointon) is home alone.  She can’t explain the disappearance of familiar objects, the mysterious footsteps overhead or the ghostly flickering of living room gaslight. Is she losing her mind?  Does the terror exist in her imagination or are dark secrets living in her home?

The surprise arrival of retired Detective Rough (Keith Allen) leads to a shocking discovery that will shake her respectable Victorian marriage to its core.

A highly suspenseful play, Gaslight is written by one of the 20th Century’s most renowned British writers, Patrick Hamilton whose works also include the chilling Rope (1929) successfully adapted for the screen by Alfred Hitchcock. In the tradition of heavyweight thrillers from Hitchcock, Christie or Priestley, Gaslight is a genre-defining, all-round elegant masterpiece.

Leading lady Kara Tointon has received universal critical acclaim for her West End stage roles including Eliza Doolittle in Pygmalion. There are numerous other stage credits while in television she won the 2013 series of BBC television’s Strictly Come Dancing and has also appeared in ITV’s hit costume drama Mr Selfridge.

Rupert Young stars as Jack Manningham and is best known for portraying Sir Leon in the BBC drama series Merlin, while Keith Allen joins the cast as Detective Rough. He too has a plentiful list in credits including on the big and small screen Death in Paradise, The Golden Circle, Eddie the Eagle and Trainspotting.

Gaslight is set to be a hugely satisfying evening of great British theatre, with a sizeable promise that this new production is one not to be missed!