Inspired by the enigmatic life of Daphne du Maurier, Daphne, which opens at Exeter’s Northcott Theatre next week, is an arresting, funny and darkly magical portrait of a woman on the brink, preparing to sign an embargo that will lock away her secrets forever.

As the document waits before her, pen hovering in hand, Daphne is swept into a storm of memory. Time fractures, reality blurs, and the desires, fears and obsessions that shaped her life come roaring back to the surface.

Haunted by her past and torn between public persona and private self, Daphne, played by Emma Stansfield, must confront the fluid identity, fierce imagination and untameable spirit that fuelled some of the 20th century’s most iconic writing.

The production runs at the Nortcott from July 4 to 11. For ticket details and performance times see https://exeternorthcott.co.uk.