Reimagined Revival Of Daphne Du Maurier's DON'T LOOK NOW Comes to New Wolsey Theatre and Salisbury Playhouse

New Wolsey Theatre and Salisbury Playhouse will co-produce a major revival of Daphne Du Maurier's Don't Look Now this Autumn. The story has been significantly reimagined for a 21st-century audience by award-winning playwright Nell Leyshon, and it is directed by Douglas Rintoul, New Wolsey Theatre's Chief Executive/Artistic Director.   

Set in an eerie Venice, the story centres around a couple returning to the city to seek comfort and escape their intense grief. Premonitions and visions blur the lines between the living and the dead as a sinister presence closes in on them. This unnerving story navigates the difficulty of finding a way forward against the seductive pull of the past, love and the bonds of family.  

Don't Look Now was written as a short story in 1971 and then made into a successful film. Originally produced for theatre in 2007, it has now been rewritten with permission from the du Maurier estate. This highly theatrical new adaptation addresses the stereotypes and negative associations previously portrayed, particularly around disability, in its retelling. 

  Douglas Rintoul said: “I've long wanted to direct Don't Look Now and create something really unnerving for this spooky time of the year. I've always been drawn to Daphne Du Maurier's work, and I love the slow-burn psychological horrors of the 1970s. Nell Leyshon's brilliant revisiting of her original adaptation captures the spirit of du Maurier's original short story while speaking powerfully to modern audiences. At its heart, it is a moving and unsettling tale of a couple navigating grief, set against a Venice that seems to close in around them. I'm also delighted to be reuniting with some of the wonderful creatives I collaborated with on our Salisbury Playhouse co-production Brief Encounter. Combining great story-telling, lighting, sound, video design, and emotionally charged performances, we're creating a theatrical event that will unnerve and move audiences long after they've left the theatre.”

Playwright and adapter Nell Leyshon said: “I have absolutely loved revisiting Don't Look Now and moving the focus from the shock ending to the extraordinary atmosphere and psychological realism of the couple at the heart of the story. It's a remarkably structured piece which is haunting and completely gripping. As the events in Venice unfold, you find yourself almost unable to breathe. Du Maurier is such a wonderful writer whose skill with plot often distracts from her real understanding of people and relationships. As a fellow West Country writer, it's a privilege to work with her words.”