The Taxidermist's Daughter hits the stage with the Southwick Players

There's something of the old-school actor-manager about Robert, who eats, drinks, sleeps and breathes theatre and is always spinning any number of drama-laden plates. Not least of his current projects is directing Southwick Players' entry for the 2024 Brighton and Hove Arts Council Drama Festival.

The Taxidermist's Daughter, a dark, chilling tale of retribution and justice, runs at the Barn Theatre, Southwick, from Wednesday, October 2, to Saturday, October 5. Tickets for The Taxidermist's Daughter are available from the box office on 0333 666 3366 or online at southwickplayers.org.uk or www.ticketsource.co.uk

The story was adapated for the stage by Cicestrian Kate Mosse from her best-selling novel of 10 years ago and premiered at Chichester Festival Theatre in April, 2022. The Players believe they will be the first amateur theatre group in the country to perform it.

Robert and his touring company Dionysus Theatre (he's artistic director) have just completed a critically acclaimed run of The Woman in White, adapted by him from the Wilkie Collins novel and in which he played a memorable Count Fosco.

"When I first saw the debut production of The Taxidermist's Daughter at Chichester," said Robert, "I instantly knew I had to direct my own version one day. It has the air of an old-fashioned gothic thriller that I simply adore. At its core is a story of revenge and female empowerment in a masculine-dominated pre-Great War society, where women were not only looked down upon, but were also shunned for their want of equality. The themes in this play often reflect modern life, where perhaps it is not always wise to trust those in positions of power - to not always take what you see for granted, for often beneath the surface there are darker motives."

Robert added: "When the opportunity arose to work with the Southwick Players, I was over the moon. The attention to detail and production values this company carries are second to none."

And of his hectic schedule, he said: "I have found that no matter how busy you are, you will always somehow find time for the things you love. Hence why I am often found juggling more than one production at a time as theatre is my first love and I simply cannot get enough of it!"

The action of The Taxidermist's Daughter takes place against a 1912 backdrop of the Fishbourne saltwater marshes. Connie Gifford lives with her father, whose museum of avian taxidermy was once legendary, but since its closure, Gifford has become a broken man, taking refuge in the bottle. Connie - robbed of her childhood memories by a mysterious accident - is haunted by fitful glimpses of her past. A strange woman has been seen in the local graveyard and, a few miles away at Chichester's Graylingwell asylum, two female patients have escaped. As a major storm hits the Sussex coast, one woman seeks revenge for horrifying crimes of the past.

Frank Horsley