THE marriage of Edward Bare and his wife Monica is the kind that sets tongues wagging. He is young, flash and jobless, while she is well-off and many years his senior. Though he appears to dote on her, Edward plies Monica with an awful lot of sherry – especially when the subject of her will comes up.

An awful crime is committed, but the law does not notice. Justice will only come to Edward Bare if he slips up or meets his match.

Janet Green’s 1952 thriller Murder Mistaken was memorably filmed as Cast a Dark Shadow, with Dirk Bogarde in the lead. Here, Mitch Capaldi is full of nervous energy as the wide boy preying on women with money.

Under director Al Wadlan, the production maintains the tension throughout, especially as it heads towards the plot twists that dominate the final scenes. It benefits from first-rate performances, including those of Margaret McEwan in an all-important role and Victoria Porter as the new partner who has an inkling of what Edward is all about.

This is the last of the five plays that the London Repertory Players have presented in as many weeks and the company is still on excellent form. A near-capacity audience will have been pleased to hear that the players will be back with another five shows in 2020.

* Murder Mistaken runs until Tuesday, September 3.