AS the weather has suddenly become chiller it is the perfect time for a play described as "a creepy tale as icy as the crisp November air".

Malvern Theatre Players will mark their 38th year of residency at Malvern Theatres by bringing Ladies in Retirement to the Coach House Theatre from Monday, October 13 to Saturday, October 18.

Written in 1939, the play is credited as being based on a real murder which took place in France in the late 19th Century.

Based in Estuary House, a lonely place on the marshes of the Thames estuary, it is owned by Leonora Fiske who lives there with her companion Ellen Creed.

The story unfolds when Ellen’s two sisters come to stay and then her shady nephew Albert pays a surprise visit.

Later in the play, Leonora mysteriously disappears which becomes a source of intrigue for Albert who gradually but surely begins to piece together clues and ultimately constructs a chilling moonlight scenario to test his theory.

Ladies in Retirement has all the classic thriller ingredients to provide an evening of tension, if not a little terror, and the audience may never be able to listen to Tit Willow in the same way again.

Ladies in Retirement first premiered in London in 1939 and swiftly moved to Broadway, where it opened in 1940 with Flora Robson in the lead role.

It was made into a film in 1941 starring Ida Lupino and Louis Haywood and subsequently modernised and released in 1969 under the film title of The Mad Room.

Performances for Ladies in Retirement, directed by Gillian Young, are at 7.30pm with a 2.30pm matinee on Saturday.

Tickets are available from Malvern Theatres box office on 01684 892277 or online at www.malvern-theatres.co.uk.