THE structure of language and the structure of lives – in reality and fantasy – mingle dramatically in Craig Higginson’s play, The Girl in the Yellow Dress, directed by Tim Roseman at Salisbury Playhouse.

The innovative design is by James Perkins, Dave Marsh and Alex Twiselton.

An increasingly engrossing encounter unfolds in five short acts, on a simple, impressive set.

Celia’s new pupil, Pierre, a French Congolese student, arrives at her Paris flat to widen his command of English, which he perceives as the language of the world and his key to success. He looks vaguely familiar and Celia wonders how he selected her as his tutor.

The rising dramatic tension between the actors Fiona Button and Clifford Samuel reveals their vulnerability in personal relationships and their perception of language, life and love. The enthralling 90-minute performance, played without an interval, offers a riveting expose of obsession, guilt, colonialism and class, and probes the darkness that lurks in the psyche. It runs in the salberg Studio until October 22