THIS Wales Millennium Centre and Wiltshire Creative production of Agatha Christie's The Mirror Crack'd, imaginatively adapted by Rachel Wagstaff, and directed by Melly Still, is receiving considerable acclaim at Salisbury Playhouse, where it runs until March 9 before going on tour.

Even before the play begins, the recumbent figure of Miss Marple, confined to a chair due to an accident, is visible on the cavernous, sparsely furnished set that secretes some amazing visual effects thanks to lighting designer is Malcolm Rippeth.

The remote position of the telephone seems devised to accentuate Miss Marple's incapacity, as she struggles painfully to answer calls. Perhaps this implies that the famous sleuth has been marginalised. Not so!

She remains perfectly able to delve skilfully into the intricacies of a murder that is triggered by a bygone tragedy.

The large cast's frenetic routines, that fill the stage with colour and movement, may hint at the complexity of a case that Miss Marple - far from being past her prime - will unravel. Deliberate, unreal motion, stylised grouping, depiction of events in dramatic flashback sequences and the mysteries of real identities all merge into a mosaic from which Miss Marple can devise the truth.

Susie Blake plays the sleuth, who may seem sidelined, but is actually at the crux of the case. Suzanna Hamilton is Marina Gregg, a film star haunted by a personal sorrow, seeking a comeback in a studio that seems targeted by a killer. Joe Dixon plays her current husband while her minder, Guiseppe Renzo is played by Huw Parmenter.

Chief Inspector Craddock, played by Simon Shepherd, who arrives from Scotland Yard, the son of Miss Marple's late friend. An excellent cast does justice to the unfolding drama which is finally resolved. Full marks to Gillian Saker, Davina Moon, Katie Matsell, Katherine Manners, Julia Hills and Colin R Campbell. Appropriate atmospheric music was devised by Jon Nicholls.

Stella Taylor