Switzerland

It is 1995. In the Swiss Alps a reclusive author hides away in her study, surrounded by her collection of books and antique weaponry, finding solace in her seclusion, her cats and cigarettes. The author is Patricia Highsmith, the queen of the thriller, now ageing and ailing. Vitriolic, bigoted and alcoholic, her eccentricities are the stuff of legend.

A polished young man turns up, sent by her New York publisher to persuade the great writer to pen one final instalment of her best-selling series featuring the master manipulator, Tom Ripley. But as day breaks over the mountains, it becomes clear that the charming stranger is set on a far more sinister mission.

Filled with razor-sharp dialogue, this chilling and sometimes hilarious two-hander unfolds into a gripping psychological thriller.

Phyllis Logan, who played housekeeper Mrs Hughes in Downton Abbey, was acclaimed for her extraordinary performance as Patricia Highsmith at Switzerland’s premiere at the Theatre Royal Bath’s Ustinov Studio earlier this year.