Many a mature actor or theatre-goer looks back fondly on the era of weekly rep. In those days, a cast could be rehearsing one production in the daytime and performing another at night.

London Repertory Company revived that tradition at Boscombe’s Shelley Theatre last summer. They’re back this year with three plays in as many weeks – and this time, they’re changing plays midweek so that holiday-makers can see more than one production during their stay.

The season got under way with a cracking production of Frederick Knott’s Dial M For Murder, which played to a practically full house in this wonderful little theatre.

The premise, for those who haven’t seen the play or Alfred Hitchcock’s great 1954 film version, is that tennis pro Tony Wendice (played here by Al Wadlan) wants rid of Sheila (Cecily Nash), the wife he married for her money.

He blackmails another man into dispatching her – but the attack does not go as planned, and the lying Wendice must pit his brain against that of a police inspector (Mark Spalding).

The Shelley’s stage may be small, but director Vernon Thompson turns it convincingly into a London flat and delivers the action in pleasingly traditional fashion. Done right, the twists of Knott’s thriller should keep an audience thoroughly engrossed, and that was the case here. The performances were spot-on, with the central battle of wits compellingly rendered by Messrs Wadlan and Spalding.

Even if you’ve seen other productions, or the movie, the cleverness of Dial M for Murder means the plot always seems fresh. (I know I always forget how that pivotal business with the latch-key plays out.) Its tightly written script must be very demanding to perform, and this company pulls it off memorably. Anyone who loves night of good old-fashioned theatrical entertainment would be well advised to go – and it wouldn’t be a bad idea to book for the next production, Neil Simon’s comedy Come Blow Your Horn, at the same time.