Director's Commentary  The full credit for Aurelia is "adapted by Rupert Thomas from the novel by Jean-Pierre Ferriere translated by Tudor Gates". Try getting that on a poster. Tudor Gates was a familiar name from his work on Hammer Horror films of early '70’s. What attracted me to this play was that it was a strong thriller with good twist, well several twists as none of the characters were what they first appeared to be. Vera, seemingly the comedy relief housekeeper, is an opportunistic blackmailer, the scheming, confident Aurelia ends up a victim and sweet, innocent Isabel becomes a cold, calculating bitch.
Standout performances from Ailsa and Joanne plausibly conveyed the psychological twists and turns. A strong debut from Matthew as the creepy Mr Mercer. But Peter could do very little with John, such a spineless wimp it was nearly impossible to believe that two women were fighting over him! This still remains one of my favourite productions despite the tragic dénouement being ruined one night by the gun misfiring and Ailsa hitting the floor before the bullet had been fired! David

The Audience Won't Notice  John’s entrance at the end of Act I is a surprise twist for the audience as Aurelia had previously broken down and confessed to Isabel that she had killed him in self defence- all part of her cunning plot to get Lady Chalmont's money. To preserve this surprise we omitted Peter’s name from the credits in the programme. It would have remained a surprise, too except for Dave Barber booming loudly in the auditorium, “He’s missed Peter off the programme!” He should just have stood there with a sandwich board saying “John’s not dead really”.

Quote, Unquote  A fab cast to work with (being stripped and dressed in the corridor with Ailsa) and that blasted gun not firing Joanne
First one I ever saw, my life would never be the same again Phil

Was I In That One?  Aurelia saw the debut of  our lucky mascot - the Chameleon Canary, a small, vaguely bird-shaped yellow ornament that appeared on set . It has appeared on stage in every production since.