Double Indemnity has arrived in Nottingham this week, and my goodness me, does it bring with it some heavy cultural clout: James M. Cain’s razor-sharp 1943 novella and Billy Wilder’s immortal 1944 film noir loom large over this production. I love them both. These are works that defined an entire genre, giving birth to a succession of stories steeped in moral decrepitude that seem almost inseparable from the monochrome world from which they first emerged. Translating that legacy to the UK stage is a bold move, and from the outset I’m keenly alert to how this adaptation by Tom Holloway will honour, resist, or reimagine its famous forebears.

The plot is infamously brutal. Insurance salesman Walter Huff meets the cool, determined Phyllis Nirdlinger, and what begins as flirtation descends all too rapidly into passionate conspiracy to murder. Together they plot the demise of Phyllis’s husband, engineering the ‘perfect accident’ to trigger a double-indemnity insurance clause payout. Of course, as you and I know only too well, the perfect murder is impossible. Guilt, suspicion, and the steady pressure of an investigator who knows how to spot fraud at twenty paces, begins to fracture the lovers’ confidence.

Mischa Barton stars as Phyllis (making her UK stage debut), and she clearly understands that the role only works if it resists easy villainy. She gives us a Phyllis who is controlled and enigmatic, who refuses to show her cards too early. There’s a deliberate stillness to her performance, a sense that every pause is calculated. When she turns the charm on, it feels like she has drawn a weapon she knows exactly how to use. Barton’s Phyllis isn’t just a caricatured femme fatale; she’s a determined woman who has learned how to get her way in a man’s world – whatever it takes.

Ciaran Owens is Walter Huff, bringing a grounded yet increasingly frayed energy to the role. He narrates the piece, directly out to the crowd through the fourth wall. This is a highly effective device. He sets out with charming confidence, a man who thinks he can outwit the system. As the devilish plan unfolds (and unravels), Owens lets the cracks show – his shoulders sag, his speech tightens, and the bravado drains away. The chemistry between him and Barton is simmeringly good: their scenes crackle with mutual suspicion even in their most intimate of moments.

The supporting cast provide the moral compass, particularly Martin Marquez as the insurance fraud investigator Keyes, whose steady persistence leads to the unravelling of the deceit. His dogged determination, nose for the job, and quiet intelligence is enough to make the walls close in. The story moves along quite nicely, handling swift scene changes and tonal shifts without breaking the tension.

Director Oscar Toeman’s staging is as economical as it is evocative. A minimal set (Ti Green) successfully suggests offices, streets, and Hollywood houses with the simplest of elements – a desk here, a lamp there, people crossing upstage. Visually, the production leans into its noir heritage without over-indulging. Stark lighting (Joshua Gadsby) carves the stage into pockets of secrecy, and the minimalist design allows our imagination to do the heavy lifting. This restraint perfectly suits the material.

This is a story about people who believe they can outpace consequence, only to discover that consequence has been patiently waiting for them at the next set of lights. This production lands its ending subtly (perhaps a little too subtly for tonight’s audience for we are unsure if it is quite finished or not in the final blackout!). It’s an unsettling reminder that the most dangerous traps are the ones we step into willingly, convinced we’re still in control.

This new stage reimagining of a timeless classic works well – so, whether you come as a devotee of Cain’s novella, a lover of Wilder’s film, or a newcomer drawn in by the promise of seeing a Hollywood star on stage, catch it this week at the Theatre Royal Nottingham. You’ll not be disappointed.