THEATRE
Adapted by Anne-Louise Sarks from the novel by Daphne du Maurier
At The Sumner, Southbank Theatre until 5 Nov 2025
Reviewer: Kate Herbert
Stars: ***1/2
This review is published only on this blog. I’ll present a radio review on Arts Weekly on 3MBS on Sat 18 Oct 2025. KH
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| Nikki Shiels, Pamela Rabe,. REBECCCA MTC Photo by Pia Johnson |
Daphne du Maurier’s gothic novel Rebecca steps off the page in this stylish and unsettling stage adaptation by Anne-Louise Sarks for Melbourne Theatre Company.
From the opening moments, Sarks evokes an eerie, forbidding atmosphere that seeps through the sparse but elegant design by Marg Horwell. The set cleverly suggests both the glittering luxury of Monte Carlo and the shadowy grandeur of Manderley, the Cornish mansion that becomes the story’s emotional battleground.
Nikki Shiels is luminous and affecting as the young, unnamed narrator, whose girlish pride and awkward delight in her sudden romance with Maxim de Winter soon curdle into anxiety and dread. Initially the timid companion to the wealthy and acerbic Mrs Van Hopper (Pamela Rabe), she is swept into a marriage with the sullen, distant widower Maxim (Stephen Phillips) and taken to his estate, Manderley.
The ghost of the first Mrs de Winter, the beautiful Rebecca, haunts every corner of the house and every gesture of its inhabitants. Her presence is maintained — even exalted — by Mrs Danvers, played with icy precision and quiet ferocity by Rabe. Her silent scrutiny and barely suppressed contempt create a tension that is palpable.
Shiels’ character evolves convincingly from naive young bride to a woman tempered by fear, jealousy and hard-won self-possession. Phillips captures Maxim’s brittle restraint and concealed torment, while Toby Truslove provides a welcome spark of wit as the genial Frank and rakish Jack Favell.
As with many literary adaptations, compressing du Maurier’s intricate, psychological narrative into a two-hour stage play presents challenges. The final thirty minutes, built from short, episodic scenes, attempt to unravel the mystery and moral complexity of the novel’s conclusion but feel hurried and theatrically thin.
Despite this, Rebecca remains an evocative and atmospheric interpretation, rich with foreboding, desire and danger. Sarks’ production captures the timeless allure of du Maurier’s gothic world where love and obsession intertwine, and the past refuses to die.
by Kate Herbert
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| Nikki Shiels, Pamela Rabe, Stephen Phillips. REBECCCA MTC Photo by Pia Johnson |
Cast:
Nikki Shiels - Woman
Pamela Rabe – Mrs Van Hopper, Mrs Danvers/ Beatrice
Stephen Phillips -Maxim
Toby Truslove – Frank/Jack
Creative
Team:
Director – Anne-Louise Sarks
Designer – Marg Horwell
Lighting Designer – Paul Jackson
Composers & Sound Designers – Grace Ferguson & Joe Paradise Lui
Voice & Dialect Coach – Geraldine Cook-Dafner
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