CALGARY - Within months of its publication in 1938, Daphne du Maurier's gothic romance Rebecca became an international sensation.

Two years later, Alfred Hitchcock turned it into an Oscar-winning film.

Seven decades have done little to diminish the haunting effect of this ghost story, as is evidenced by Mark Bellamy's deliciously creepy production running at Vertigo Theatre. The beautiful and spirited Rebecca de Winter may have died a year earlier but her presence is felt in every nook and cranny at Manderley, the sea-side estate which she shared with her wealthy husband Maxim de Winter (Trevor Leigh). When Maxim brings home his new bride, the second Mrs. de Winter (Arielle Rombough), it does take the black-robed dour Mrs. Danvers (Elinor Holt) to ask the frightened woman if she can't feel the wrath of the house's former mistress. The audience certainly can, courtesy of the note-perfect performances of Holt as an incarnation of evil and Rombough as the vulnerable outsider. Holt is the raven and Rombough the dove who must transform or be destroyed.

Watching Rombough turn into a formidable adversary for Holt makes for riveting suspense and nail-biting tension.

De Winter is usually played as an intimidating authoritarian figure, but Leigh gives him more warmth and humour, which helps to explain how he captivated his new bride, but it does take some of the scare factor away from the play.

Paul Cowling as de Winter's best friend is far more daunting and disconcerting. Kevin Rothery is wonderfully slimy as Rebecca's cousin Jack Favell, but he's no pussycat when it comes to fighting for what he thinks is rightfully his. The production's supporting cast is outstanding from Jim Leydon's angry sailor and Brian Gromoff's amiable policeman to Greg Spielman's faithful butler.

Bellamy creates, builds then sustains a sense of foreboding so we rightfully fear not everyone is going to get out of Manderley alive.

More Theatre Reviews