Weekly rep continues at the Manor Pavilion Theatre in Sidmouth this week with the arrival of the seventh production, Rope by Patrick Hamilton. The smash hit thriller will play from Thursday 13 to Wednesday 19 August.

The Summer Rep Season sees one company of actors present a season of twelve classic revivals throughout summer, with a new production each week until the end of September.

The year is 1929. The location is an upper-class house in the Mayfair district of London. Two Oxford University students, Wyndham Brandon and Charles Granillo, have committed what they think is the perfect murder. They have killed one of their classmates as an expression of their intellectual superiority, and deposited his body in a chest in their living room. The murder has been meticulously planned, and Brandon and Granillo are convinced they are both above suspicion. To celebrate their success, they plan a dinner party during which dinner will be served on top of the very chest in which the remains are hidden. They believe they have committed the most poetic crime, but will the truth be discovered?

Rope was written in 1929 and was Patrick Hamilton’s first theatrical hit. The play was performed in Londonʼs West End and then on Broadway. It was also recorded for BBC television in 1938 and adapted into a feature film by Alfred Hitchcock film in 1948. Hamilton’s other popular plays include Gaslight and Hangover Square.

Rep Season actor James Pellow talks about performing in Sidmouth:

“Sidmouth is like a second home for me - my first Rep Season was in 2004, and since then I've made a lot of good friends here.  It's always a pleasure to return, and to spend the summer beside the sea!

"When the season is in full swing, and you've got several plays in a row, you really do find out how short a week is - as soon as one play opens, you're on to the next one.  You may be dashing around the stage in a farce one week, and the next you may be stalking it as a killer!  The challenge is in keeping up with the line learning - and being able to create a new character very quickly.

"I'm in seven of the twelve plays this summer, including Daphne de Maurier's September Tide and David Hare's Amy's View.  I’ve played the hotel manager in Ray Cooney's fast-paced farce Out of Order and am now rehearsing the role of Sir Johnstone Kentley in Patrick Hamilton's Rope.  I'm also looking forward to the last play of the season The Importance of Being Earnest, in which I'll be playing Lady Bracknell - and I'll be directing the play, too.”

The 2015 Season Company is Alec Fellows-Bennett, Andrew Beckett, Anton Tweedale, Chris Casey, Daniele Coombe, Ellen Verenieks, Ethan Chapples, Evie Lockley, Fiz Marcus, Francis Adams, Gary Roe, Grace Miller, Hannah Vesty, James Lawrence, James Pellow, John Askew, Jonathan Ray, Julie Ross, Lou Lou Mason, Matthew Curnier, Natalie Douglas, Nova Skipp, Pearl Marsland, Russell Anthony, Sabi Perez, Sarah Dearlove, Sarah Dungworth, Sarah Kempton, Stephanie Willson, Toby Joyce and Tom Read Wilson.

The Summer Rep Season 2015 is directed by Paul Taylor-Mills (Out of Order), Lillie Collier (Hay Fever, Boeing Boeing), Stuart Burrows (Amy's View, Rope), (Joking Apart, The Mating Game, Hound of the Baskervilles), Max Reynolds (September Tide), James Murphy (Sweet Revenge, Wait Until Dark) and James Pellow (The Importance of Being Earnest). It is produced by Paul Taylor-Mills and Lillie Collier with Associate Producer Kylie Vilcins. It is designed by David Shields with costumes designs by Barbara Williams and lighting by Tony Hill.

Performances: 8.00pm (no shows on Sunday)
Tickets:  Adults £15.00 and £14.00, Under 16s £8.00 (Season tickets available)
Box office: 01395 514 413 | www.manorpavilion.com

Further information and tickets: http://www.manorpavilion.com/