The audience settles, and is immediately unsettled. The stark, dark Gothic saga of Wuthering Heights unfolds on the stage of the Rose in Kingston in a disturbing adaptation by the Inspector Sands troupe.

Ben Lewis twists Emily Bronte’s 1847 novel into a two-and-three-quarter-hour show directed by Lucinka Eisler, with this all-too brief local run ending on Saturday before shifting to Newcastle.

Heathcliff (Ike Bennett), Cathy (Lua Bairstow) and servant Nelly (Giulia Innocenti playing the character/narrator) are the three constants, while John Askew, Leander Deeny and Nicole Sawyer double up as several characters in a tense, gripping tale, leavened by wry comedy and apt bursts of modern music.

Nicole Sawyer, Lua Bairstow and Lender Deeny. All pictures by Alex Brenner

Underpinning this production’s success is bold and effective lighting (Ben Ormerod) and sound (Elena Pena and Dan Balfour) which assaults the senses as we try to follow what is essentially a ghost story on the Yorkshire moors.

The stage movement is breathless and relentless, making the odd static pause even more powerful. This is a cast utterly in command of their space, recklessly climbing up and down a perilous ladder and standing centimetres from an unguarded 4m drop as they whirl about in flowing outfits. If there isn’t an ambulance on standby, there should be.

Heathcliff and Cathy, played by Ike Bennett and Lua Bairstow

This is boisterous, high-octane acting and movement which didn’t so much entertain the first-night house on Tuesday as ambush it. Anarchy, whimsy and brooding menace compete for dominance, with the result being a riveting cocktail of moods and emotions.

There are matinees and evening shows, although the energy required to do Wuthering Heights twice in a day beggars belief. Tickets here.