Thérèse Raquin, Émile Zola’s classic novel, will be part of the Abingdon Arts Festival next week.

The psychological thriller will be performed by Abingdon Drama Club.

The play is set in a district of Paris in the 1870s and tells the story of the secret affair between Thérèse and her husband’s best friend, Laurent.

The passion of their affair drives them to murder Thérèse’s husband, Camille. However, the terrible crime leads to neither happiness nor liberation, but to the destruction of their relationship and their eventual downfall.

Leslie Sands, who adapted the novel for the stage and is the play’s director, is promising a special twist and a dramatic climax to Zola’s 19th-century novel.

“Although set in Victorian times, the basic story of a love triangle and a murder are just as relevant to today,” he said.

He added: “Bringing a period piece to the stage has some challenges as far as furniture and costumes are concerned, but the biggest challenge will be an 1870s wheelchair!

“The size of the Unicorn stage, being small, will help us to portray a small untidy apartment above a shop which includes a curtained-off area for Thérèse's bedroom.”

Thérèse will be played by Andrea Mardon. She is Canadian-born, but spent time in the United States as an acting coach. She recently moved with her husband to Faringdon and it will be her debut for Abingdon Drama Club.

Diarmaid Browne, who plays Laurent, has a family connection to the club. He has performed with them on a previous occasion and is a drama student at Abingdon and Witney College.

Madame Raquin will be played by Jill Calvert, a regular performer and director, and an active member of Abingdon Drama Club for some years.

Michaud, a retired police detective and Madame Raquin’s friend, will be played by Nigel Tait, who directed the club's recent pantomime and last appeared in the summer 2008 production of Improbable Fiction, by Alan Ayckbourn.

Gerard Ward will play Grivet, the family doctor. Gerard has made two previous appearances for Abingdon Drama Club, the last as the waiter in Harold Pinter's Betrayal.

Camille, the doomed husband, will be played by Andrew Down, who has acted in two previous plays for the club, including Improbable Fiction.

Thérèse Raquin will be performed at the Unicorn Theatre, Abbey Buildings, Abingdon, between Wednesday, March 24, and Saturday, March 27, at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £7 (concessions £6) and are available at The Bookstore, Abingdon Precinct, or by calling the ticketline on 01235 524538.