THRILLS and chills will fill the Milton Rooms, Malton, on February 4 when two of the most infamous convicted poisoners in British history are brought back to life on stage and the audience is invited to be judge and jury on their deeds.

Presented by the aptly named Don't Go Into The Cellar! theatre company, Murder By Gaslight relives the macabre cases of diabolical doctors William Palmer and Harvey Crippen, who were hanged as murderous men of medicine in Victorian and Edwardian England respectively, despite their pleas of innocence.

The West Midlands company with a predilection for "Victorian theatre with bite" will combine old-fashioned story-telling with modern-day theatrical effects "guaranteed to set the pulse racing and bring a shiver to the spine".

Artistic director Jonathan Goodwin has a life-long love of Victorian detective, ghost and horror stories. “We aim to bring audiences a glimpse of what theatre would have been like at the end of the 19th century: not blood and gore, but plenty of jumps," he says. "Our shows are always laced with humour, albeit of the gallows kind."

Tickets for the 7pm performance cost £10 on 01653 696240 or in person from the box office.