IT is with much relief to discover that Susie Blake, best known as the eternally unimpressed and acerbic continuity announcer on The Victoria Wood Show, is in fact charm itself.

The actress, who is appearing in Alan Ayckbourn's 61st and self- directed play Snake In The Grass at The Yvonne Arnaud, is brimming with enthusiasm for the play which has already attracted rave reviews from the critics.

The play signals something of a departure for Ayckbourn, his first stab at a spooky thriller and his first work to feature an all-female cast.

"It's very exciting to be in one of his new plays," says Susie,

"It's a comedy thriller with a dark side which can still be enjoyed by 10 year olds and yet also frighten adults. Alan writes so wonderfully well for women and people always say 'how can he get into their minds so well'."

Blake, who last appeared at the Yvonne Arnaud 10 years ago in Double Dealer with Paul Eddington, plays Miriam, a woman who has killed her elderly father for the inheritance and is being blackmailed by his former nurse who has found out.

The arrival of Miriam's sister at the former family home triggers sibling rivalries, emotional angst and another death for good measure.

"It has been very well received when we performed it in Bolton and Stoke. There is a really good mix of dark subject matter and plenty of laughs although his work is never slapstick. Ayckbourn himself describes it as Hitchcock meets Tennessee Williams."

After acting in five Ayckbourn plays including the recent West End hit, Noises Off, Blake may be familiar with his style and nuances but has never worked with co-stars Rachel Atkins and Fiona Mallison or been in a female-only cast.

"The main thing is it is directed by a man. In the past I've been asked to do plays with all female casts which were also directed by women and I've turned them down because life isn't like that, there needs to be a mix.

"He's a very generous director and he really likes actors, so he doesn't make you suffer. Everyone reckons he gets the best out of people."

Not surprisingly, she rebukes criticism from some quarters that provincial theatre is too reliant on Ayckbourn and that his work is too formulaic and new talent is not getting the chance to shine.

"It's like the Beatles songs. At the time everyone said they sound the same but of course they were not and they all deal with different subjects. In the same way Ayckbourn plays are just as different. I think they're chosen because they'll fill seats and people will go away really thinking about what they have seen and mull it over."

Refreshingly down to earth, Susie says she has never been that ambitious and has no real preference between television or theatre, although soaps have never appealed.

"I love the intimacy of television, but as an actor I think there is more reality in the theatre and you feel more in control than on television. On telly, you can be doing this great performance and discover the camera is on someone else.

"I would never be one of those people who say they prefer theatre just because the TV work has dried up. I do what I'm offered and I've been very fortunate to keep going.

"I would really like to do more repertory theatre. I love the idea of being based at the same place for a few years, that's why I enjoy my work with the Stephen Joseph Theatre in Scarborough. I like going back to the same town and feeling part of a family."

Her love of repertory was inspired by her visits to the Farnham Castle Theatre when she was a child.

"I had friends in Medstead and we'd go regularly. It was like going to the cinema and I used to idolise Ian Talbot."