REVIEW: My Cousin Rachel/Malvern Theatres

INFATUATION that ends in disaster is an age-old dramatic theme and there is no greater expert on the condition than Daphne Du Maurier.

The notion of a young, inexperienced man being completely consumed by the charms of an older woman may not sit well with the present day’s new puritanism. But it’s certainly a fertile area for storytelling and this adaptation is up there with the best of them.

Dark, brooding and oozing with menace, much of the sheer suspense in this cautionary tale of a man at first blinded by prejudice and then unquestioning love is created by designer Richard Kent’s haunting set and the oppressive Gothic atmosphere of David Plater’s subtle lighting.

Very rarely does the heart miss a beat with staged drama these days, but in this case, there are truly some very icy moments indeed.

Helen George is coldly convincing as the recently widowed Rachel, who has arrived at Barton House following the death of her husband in Italy. It runs until tomorrow, December 7, and represents theatre at its finest.

John Phillpott