FROM a short story by W Somerset Maugham, the play is set in Malaya in the late 1920s, when the Brits lived the life of Riley on the plantations. Robert Crosbie (Andrew Charleson) is an amiable sort of chap, not the demonstrative sort but deeply in love with his pretty wife Leslie. Then one evening when he's away from their bungalow, an acquaintance called Geoffrey Hammond pays Leslie an unscheduled visit, tries to force his attentions on her and ends up shot dead on the verandah.

Poor Leslie is distraught when Robert arrives home with his best friend, lawyer Howard Joyce, to find the local law already there.

Leslie sobs out her story and is resigned to being taken to Singapore to face serious charges, although Robert is convinced no jury will convict. Howard ponders over the fact that frail little Leslie managed to pump an entire magazine into six-foot Hammond with Robert's revolver.

I won't reveal all the twists and turns that bring us to the final despairing conclusion; suffice to say that Leslie isn't quite the fragile flower she first appears to be.

Jenny Seagrove is exactly right in the role; slender, ramrod straight and still very beautiful. Anthony Andrews, always one of my favourites, plays Howard Joyce with that quirky Britishness for which he's famous, his stiff upper lip maintained until right at the end, when Robert breaks down in tears and Howard extends a hand and - gosh - very nearly touches his friend's shoulder. Expertly acted, if a bit wordy.

* Until Saturday. Box Office: 01325-486555 Sue Heath