TERENCE Rattigan’s 1950s masterpiece The Deep Blue Sea is the next production at Bagnor's Watermill Theatre.

Abandoning the security and respectability of life with her distinguished older husband, Hester throws herself into a passionate affair with former RAF pilot Freddie.

His raffish charm wears thin, but Hester remains infatuated. With overpowering feelings for Freddie and with her husband ready to forgive, Hester finds herself caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

Douglas Rintoul, who previously directed All My Sons and Mice and Men at the theatre, returns to the Bagnor venue to direct the play.

He said: “Getting the chance to direct one of the great British plays of the twentieth century for such a beautiful and intimate venue is a real gift.

“Put together by a top creative team and performed by a stellar acting company we promise a deeply affecting evening.”

The cast features Newbury based actor Adam Kotz in the role of Sir William Collyer, with Adam Best (Jackie Jackson), James Hillier (Mr Miller), Eliza Hunt (Mrs Elton), Adam Jackson-Smith (Freddie), Hattie Ladbury (Hester), Fred Lancaster (Philip Welch) and Bathsheba Piepe (Ann Welch).

One of the twentieth century's greatest playwrights, Terence Rattigan’s work spanned stage and screen.

His most celebrated plays include The Browning Version, The Winslow Boy, Separate Tables and Cause Célèbre and film work includes The Sound Barrier, The Prince and the Showgirl, The VIPs and The Yellow Rolls Royce.

See the production from Thursday, June 4 to Saturday, July 4.

Tickets priced £14.50 - £26.50 are available from the box office on 01635 46044 or online at watermill.org.uk.