A twisty-turny spin on the whodunnit (minus a body, and little or no evidence), The Lady Vanishes is one heck of a headspinner. Is there a crime to be solved or is the disappearance – and very existence of – missing train passenger Mrs Froy a figment of a freshly-concussed socialite Iris Henderson’s imagination?

Initially crammed with comedy caper-style gags, cases of mislaid luggage and scuppered attempts to secure rooms at the local inn, as a motley crew of British travellers find themselves stranded in an identified Nazi-occupied European country, following an avalanche, the sinuous plot takes on a dark turn – and fast. The tracks cleared and train barely out of the station, Mrs Froy, an elderly governess and music teacher vanishes into thin air.

Even more perplexing is the fact that no one on board besides Iris Henderson has any recollection of ever having laid eyes on Mrs Froy. With only a name traced on a steamed-up window and a sachet of tea as tenuous clues, the socialite – who hit her head moments before getting on the train, throwing her sanity and reliability into question – enlists the help of fellow traveller and musicologist Max, to solve the mystery of the lady’s baffling disappearance and bust through travellers’ conspiracy of silence.

Lorna Fitzgerald is flawless as the petulant heiress turned accidental sleuth while Matt Barber packs on the charm as Iris’s slightly blinkered sidekick, swept up in her truth-seeking campaign.

As tightly-paced and wistfully cinematic as Hitchcock’s serpentine original, this new adaption hits all the marks and then some. From the fog-cloaked train station to the Art Deco carriages and sepia-toned nods to film noir, the sets offer a glamorous and suitably claustrophobic backdrop for Iris and Max’s fraught investigation.

Prepare to be strung along, hoodwinked, outwitted and misled – until the last possible second (unless of course you’ve seen the film!).

The Lady Vanished runs at the Theatre Royal Bath until February 2. - Marion Sauvebois