A mysterious woman arrives at a young doctor’s house in the middle of a stormy night with a dark secret to reveal.

Dressed in black, as if in mourning, her identity is masked by a veil. But what lies behind the shroud?

Based on a short story by Charles Dickens, The Black Veil has been adapted for the stage by playwright John Goodrum.

Nick Murphy plays the doctor - or The Man as he is known in the play - who must unravel the secret that his unexpected visitor holds.

“He’s a recently graduated doctor,” he says about his character. “He’s very young, very niave and very well-meaning and trying to make his way in the world.

“One stormy night he gets a visit from a woman in a black veil. What is the woman hiding behind the black veil? Is there more to her than meets the eye?

“There are sinister undertones about why you hide your face behind a mask.”

This is Murphy’s third tour of the play, which comes to Fairfield Halls for a five-night run on July 12, but he says the one aspect he still finds challenging is not being able to read the facial expressions of his co-star.

“I have nothing to react to in terms of performing and acting. It’s quite odd because you turn round to see your colleague on stage and you cannot see anything. There’s only my face that you can actually see.

“It’s good that it really comes alive through the dialogue, which manages to keep the tension and the audience guessing.

“You really get a sense of the audience coming with you and the moments when things are revealed you can feel a complete tension shift in the room.”

The Black Veil, Fairfield Halls, Park Lane, July 12-16, 7.30pm, 2.30pm Thursday and Saturday matinees, £18/£15, £12 concessions, 020 8688 9291, fairfield.co.uk