THEATRE REVIEW: Rehearsal for Murder - at the Festival Theatre, Malvern, from Monday, January 25 to Saturday, January 30, 2016.

ORIGINALLY a successful early 1980s television film starring such big screen luminaries as Robert Preston, Lynn Redgrave, Jeff Goldblum and Patrick Macnee, this murder-mystery also delivers the goods on stage and is up there with some of the best of its genre.

As a first production from Bill Kenwright’s new stable, The Classic Thriller Theatre Company - after some phenomenal years with The Agatha Christie Theatre Company, it shows every indication there’s plenty more in the tank.

Written by Richard Levinson and William Link, the venerable creators of Columbo and Murder, She Wrote, the story takes place on the stage of an empty theatre as playwright Alex Dennison stages an elaborate plan to reveal the truth behind his movie star fiancée's supposed suicide.

The cast and production team from what had been her first, and only stage play performance, are gathered together a year after her death under the pretext of a reading of his new play.

But, as the scenes are read, it’s soon evident Alex has an ulterior motive in inviting these people for this “rehearsal."

Alex is ‘forced’ to tell the group he believes Monica was actually murdered, and that one of them is the prime suspect! Each comes under suspicion as all might have had a motive, but at the same time it could be that this grieving writer’s emotions have tipped him over the edge!

The play has its twists and turns, and the clues, with Alex at one stage saying his new play takes an unusual form, a mystery - "You take the audience by the hand, and you lead them... in the wrong direction. They trust you, and you betray them! All in the name of surprise.”

That describes the play in a nutshell, and when that’s cracked there is quite a surprise!

Nicely adapted for the stage by David Rogers and tightly and cleverly directed by Roy Marsden including several intriguing flashbacks, the play features husband and wife Robert Daws and Amy Robbins in the two main roles, with both showing great stage presence.

Daws - along with his powerful and emotional delivery - is dominant throughout. He’s on stage virtually from the moment the curtain goes up as everything revolves around him and he delivers in abundance.

It’s a strong cast overall and with the ever likeable Robert Duncan, along with Ben Nealon, Steven Pinder, Susan Penhaligon and Lucy Dixon playing the other luvvies it was always bound to impress.

There may be a slight feel of a good old fashioned whodunnit about this play within a play, but there’s much modernity too which make for a riveting couple of hours.

Monday’s opening night did suffer a slight early technical hitch - an irritating tinny feedback sound for around 10 minutes, possibly from a speaker, which was thankfully cleared by the right finger pressing the right button.

Someone who always appears to have his finger on the right button is Bill Kenwright, who has had a fantastic 10-year stint with the The Agatha Christie Theatre Company. It sold over two million tickets, and this first production from the new Classic Thriller group is clearly a new chapter in his life which provided enough proof to believe there will be further success over the next decade.