When a young man stands to inherit everything from his older female companion, found dead, it looks like an open and shut case of murder with a cast iron motive.

But, as Agatha Christie’s tense courtroom drama reveals nothing, or rather no-one, can be taken at face value.

Christie’s mystery is peppered with plot twists, witty one-liners and intriguing characters playing on each others’ strengths and weaknesses.

Courtroom drama doesn’t really work for me unless it crackles with tension.

Thanks to a slick cast of familiar faces doing the sharp script and its clipped 1950s vowels justice, there was just enough suspense here to keep the action flowing nicely.

Designer Simon Scullion’s formidable set, doubling up as Chambers and the Number One Court of the Old Bailey, created grand surroundings filled with rising tension.

The audience became the jury; weighing up the evidence and deciding on a verdict. After endless formulaic, patronising TV dramas, it was refreshing to watch a play that credited its audience with intelligence, allowing us to follow legal arguments and consider the evidence.

Well done to a stellar cast, including Denis Lill as Sir Wilfrid Roberts QC, and Robert Duncan as wise solicitor Mr Mayhew, both defending a man whose plea hinges on his wife’s testimony.

Strong performances too from Ben Nealon as prime suspect Leonard Vole, a seemingly pleasant chap who insists he simply befriended an older lady, and Honeysuckle Weeks as wily Romaine Vole, the wife seemingly hellbent on destroying his case.

Just as it looks as though Leonard will be declared guilty at the hands of the witness for the prosecution, there’s a sudden twist in the shape of a mysterious young woman.

A gripping drama keeping you guessing until the final scenes.

Runs until Saturday.