Alys, Always: A superbly disquieting psychological thriller

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Her friendship with the capricious daughter is a very clever set up, with the daughter mistakenly thinking she has the upper hand, and from then on the family are left open and vulnerable for the pounce. Nor does it ever really take off as a thriller: If there’s a chilling element here it’s that it stays this side of realism, Frances never descending into boggle-eyed insanity but insinuating herself into people’s lives and jobs in a way that makes you wonder who you should be looking over your shoulder for in real life. Television includes Shakespeare and Hathaway, Uncle, Nell Gaiman’s Likely Stories, Doctor Who, Suspects, Whitechapel (series 3), and Holby City. Film includes Cotton Mary, The Tulles Hill Suitcase, These Foolish Things, Another Mother’s Son, Kat and the Band and Cleansing Hour.

Her second novel Her was selected for the Waterstones Book Club and shortlisted for the Encore Award for best second novel. Frances turns up to give – and maybe pad out – her account of Alys’ last words, and finds a particularly eager listener in Laurence’s daughter.

Everything about the play rings with a horrible truth, and the writing is consistently funny and flecked with pain” What’s onstage.

When Alys’s family makes contact in an attempt to find closure, Frances is given a tantalising glimpse of a very different world: one of privilege and possibility. Her opportunism works wonders: at the office she is promoted; she gets to have lunch with the rich and privileged. THEATRE includes Alys, Always at The Bridge; Herding Cats for Hampstead Theatre and Theatre Royal Bath; What Are They Like?This seductive novel is as sinuous, sharp-eyed, shrewd and controlled as its opportunistic heroine - a terrific read. See our Remarkables Archive for some that are no longer in print, but which we are happy to try to track down. Mum said she couldn’t understand herself in a place that doesn’t have any seasons,” says Polly at one point.

Nicholas Hytner’s sleekly efficient production glides over a bare stage dominated by a large cuboid structure and some video projections of rather doubtful quality. Awards Seven Tony awards, two Olivier awards, the Royal Designer for Industry Award and Robert LB Tobin Award for Lifetime Achievement in Theatrical Design at the TDF/Irene Sharaff Awards in New York.

Theatre includes leading roles at numerous regional theatres, including The Innocents, The Heiress and The Deep Blue Sea for the Royal Northampton; The Rivals, Dear Antoine and The Stepmother at Chichester Festival Theatre; and The Family Reunion, The Importance of Being Earnest and Uncle Vanya for Manchester Royal Exchange. Instead, the chief pleasure of this evening lies in the continuous satirical jibes at journalism and at family life (pictured below). It is odd, that though Frances is so devious, you find yourself rooting for her, I think this could be because nobody she's deceiving in her pursuit of better things is that likeable anyway.