Last night I went returned to Manderley. Its gothic walls loomed over the stage at The Hall For Cornwall while the harrowing story of Rebecca unfolded.

Daphne Du Maurier’s story of love, study of jealousy and exploration of how far a person will go when tested has been wonderfully re-imagined by Kneehigh theatre.

They have told this story in a fast-paced, hard-hitting, and playful way that leads the audience into laughter, cringing and being moved.

In a previous interview, Artistic Director Emma Rice has said that what attracts her to the book is so much is left unspoken between people.

She and designer Leslie Travers have run with this and the unspoken is inferred by the beautifully done set design.

No one mentions Rebecca, though as her boat sits ominously at centre stage, while scenes play out around it, we know that she may lie beneath the water, and that she is still central to life at Manderley.

Of course, in the book we are privy to the new Mrs de Winter’s jealous neurotic thoughts but for this piece of theatre we see all the characters as they are, and they all draw you into their own worlds.

From Mrs Danvers, who comes scarily to life by the performance given by Emily Raymond. She finds the balance between curt and haunting yet heart-broken perfectly. Robert, played by Katy Owen, is entertaining in the way he is always in a bit of fluster trying so hard to please.

The new Mrs de Winter, played excellently by Imogen Sage, is shown to be awkward and shy by how fun-loving and relaxed Beatrice, Maxim’s sister, played by Lizzie Winkler, is.

She and her husband Giles, played by Andy Williams, raise many laughs in the first half with their cheer and jest, before Rebecca’s body, is raised in the second half.

This is when Maxim der Winter, played convincingly by Tristan Sturrock, is pushed close to breaking. Mrs de Winter here becomes formidable, a point that Kneehigh execute superbly with her wearing a man's jacket.

A few artistic liberties have been taken; there are not so many characters, or scenes. This hasn’t detracted form the richness of the story though. Rather it has made an interesting adaptation of a 430 page classic into an excellent piece of theatre, which has the distinct signature of Kneehigh on it.