The Abingdon Drama Club, the town’s oldest group of amateur players, returned to the Unicorn Theatre with a new piece that centres on one of the more grisly pieces of local history. Based on a book by Mark Davies, Lies on their Lips: The Abingdon Murders is a dramatisation of a late 18th- century event that, more than 200 years on, is still far from clear cut.

The play is an ensemble piece, with a cast of more than 20 playing nigh-on 40 characters. The focus, though, is a handful of men who may, or may not, have committed a brutal murder one night in the town. Although several of them were hanged for the crime, there is still debate over whether they were guilty.

A traditional Morris dance at the start, faux period dialogue and impressive costumes were three examples of the production taking its historical context seriously. There were many references to the geography of the area (with modern reference points such as Stert Street and Oxford’s Chequers pub appearing throughout), which no doubt appealed to local people. But whether the audience would be likely to extend beyond locals interested in the history is debatable. Although the play is snappily paced, featuring many short scenes, which keep audience engagement up, playwrights Joel Kaye and Gwilym Scourfield do err on the side of historical caution and thus tend to skimp on characterisation in order not to vilify, or indeed let us have much empathy with, the characters. And although the proceedings may perhaps lead many audience members to consult their local libraries for more information, I, for one, did not feel I learned too much from the play itself.

While engaging, thought-provoking and easy on the eye, Lies on their Lips (director Eileen Bagshaw) is unlikely to transcend its local origins. But if the full house I saw the play in is anything to go by, then its Abingdon success is assured.