REVIEW: Rebecca – at the Festival Theatre, Malvern, from Monday, May 4 until Saturday, May 9, 2015.

THE Kneehigh Theatre Company has, it appears, a bit of a reputation for their different interpretation of some of the theatre-world’s classics and this was certainly a prime example of how they attempt to push audiences out of their comfort zone.

Anyone familiar with Daphne du Maurier’s gripping novel, and the hit film, will know Rebecca is a dark, spooky and certainly sinister tale of love and relationships set somewhere on the rugged Cornish coastline.

The lady of the title - whose ‘presence’ haunts this so-called study in jealousy – provides a chilling opening moment as her body floats beneath the hull of a scuttled boat but then, under the Kneehigh banner, you get not only a poke in the ribs but also some rib-tickling action.

Brooding one moment, boisterous fun the next, it could easily slip between the two schools of thought but wonderfully manages to strike the right balance.

Having been gripped by its wonderful menacingly eerie opening it was initially slightly uncomfortable, for a moment, when comedy pervaded the atmosphere along with haunting sea shanties, but because the switches from light to dark were so well directed by Emma Rice early hackles were quickly calmed.

It works so well because the cast has clearly bought into Rice’s adaptation and the subtle shifts in tone - one moment there’s fear and trepidation, next moment Robert, a splendidly funny hyperactive-cum-ferret-like servant - joyously played by Kate Owen - is revealing his mother’s woes of ‘hot flushes and a bit of dryness in her tuppence”.

Jealousy is deep seated in the peeling veneer of Manderley as tormented Max de Winter (Tristan Sturrock) returns with his young blushing bride (Imogen Sage) only one year after his first wife had been lost at sea. But Rebecca’s memory haunts the fading grandeur of this mansion home and the menacing Mrs Danvers (Emily Raymond), while not necessarily evil enough, is desperate to ensure she won’t be forgotten.

Lizzie Winkler’s outrageous Beatrice and Andy Williams, as her equally flamboyant and overweight husband, Giles, dominate a number of the lighter moments, especially when they over-indulge at a society party, while the de Winters are more solidly staid as they suffer the pain and anguish of secrets that must remain so. But the shy and naive new mistress of Manderley eventually proves she is a force to be reckoned with.

Several of the cast stylishly double up on smaller but important roles and between them prove there are any number of fine shanty voices and musicians.

The shorter second half is more brooding as the comedy subsides to allow the tension to be cranked up and ought to have the doubters back on-side.

The power of the sea and the atmosphere of the Cornish landscape are superbly captured in du Maurier’s book and Kneehigh, who are based in that beautiful county, bring it brilliantly to life in a unique way that, while it may not be to the taste of all Rebecca fans, is clearly worth being given the chance.