Diego Pitarch’s magnificent set design is a static prison cell with large foxed gothic mirrors with ornate frames to the rear and stone stairs leading to upper levels. A simple desk and chair are occupied by Peter Letting (Nick Waring), who we quickly learn has an appointment with Madame La Guillotine in the morning. He’s trying to write his true story to explain how he came to this fate. An aggressive jailer, John (George Dillon), berates him to face the future but also dangles the possibility of reprieve, if Peter’s story is true and worthy of being read.

Much of the play is Peter’s narrative, his description of the terrible events which led to his present predicament, an appointment with death. Peter, an antiquarian bookseller, had been asked by his friend Gideon de Teildras Villeray (Gregg Lowe) to catalogue the books in his recently inherited castle. Upon arrival, the castle is empty save for a some canaries, a dog and a parrot. Yet every room contains a collection of large mirrors.