Former Heartbeat and Coronation Street stars in Night Must Fall at Salisbury Playhouse

Gwen Taylor brings the acid-tongued Mrs Bramson to life in this latest production which will enjoy a three-week run in the city from September 6.

It was written in 1935 by Emlyn Williams who also played the lead role in its first stage production, which was noted for its exploration of the killer’s complex psychological state.

“It is a strange play and difficult to explain without giving away the whole story but they call it a psychological thriller, although it is not a whodunnit,” said Taylor.

The lives of the characters are soon changed when the charming, smooth-talking Dan (Will Featherstone) arrives at Mrs Bramson’s remote woodland home where she lives with her niece, Olivia (Niamh McGrady).

But when a local woman goes missing and is later found murdered, Olivia begins to suspect her aunt’s new private assistant and sets out to find the truth.

Describing her character of Mrs Bramson, Taylor said: “She is a widow, is rich, and revels in ill health and unhappiness and makes most of the lives of the people around her a misery.”

The cast are currently in rehearsals for the production but Taylor says when the script came to her it was “no contest” and she relished the opportunity to play such a “deliciously unpleasant character with all kinds of layers”.

“I like the fact that it is almost taken for read that she is going to ruin every nice moment. She is the kind of woman that doesn’t listen to anyone and has her own agenda.

“The difficulty is trying to make her not so nasty that the audience draws away from her.”

Night Must Fall sees Taylor make a return to the Playhouse, although she says it has changed quite a lot. Taylor first performed here in 1977 in Kennedy’s Children – the first production in the Reggie Salberg Studio, which is now known as The Salberg.

She said: “Very much, I’m looking forward to it [getting on stage]. Just hearing the audience’s reactions because there are a couple of showstoppers in it and moments, which is what you don’t get with television unless you are doing a sitcom with an audience.

“I always think when you stop feeling, as you stand in the wings, ‘have I got a story for you’ then it is time to give up really.

You should still be excited about telling the story and making it work for them, and I still am so that’s what I’m still doing.”

Taylor started her acting career in 1968 and has appeared in television shows including Duty Free, Heartbeat and Coronation Street to name a few.

“There are lots of things I’m proud of. Duty Free was one because it became so popular and it was family entertainment which was nice to do. I’ve liked all the television I’ve done A Bit of a Do and Barbara – I loved doing Aunt Peggy in Heartbeat and killing my son in Coronation Street.”

Also starring alongside Taylor in Night Must Fall is Daragh O’Malley as Inspector Belsize, along with Alasdair Buchan as Hubert, Anne Odeke as Nurse Libby, Mandi Symonds as Mrs Terence and Melissa Vaughan as Dora.

Night Must Fall was the first production to be performed in the former Garrison Theatre on Fisherton Street in Salisbury, a predecessor of Salisbury Playhouse, starring Emlyn Williams himself.

Taylor added: “Come and see an old-fashioned play with an old-fashioned format that will intrigue you and make you laugh.

It is a satisfying theatrical experience.”

The show, directed by Luke Sheppard, runs until September 24. For tickets or more information call 01722 320333 or go to salisburyplayhouse.com.