THE Royal Court’s successful stage adaptation of Misery comes to an end this weekend.

The first chiller ever staged by the venue has been impressing audiences as former Coronation Street actress Joan Kempson and city regular Andrew Schofield thrash it out in the theatre version of the Stephen King novel.

Adding to the tension has been the original soundtrack composed by Tayo Akinbode. Although it is not performed live, the music has been a big part in the play.

Misery tells the story of a writer, Paul Sheldon, who awakes from a car crash in the middle of nowhere being looked after by his “number one fan”, Annie Wilkes – who shows a less than caring side when she finds out he has killed off his most popular character.

Akinbode explained how writing the score went through several stages as the play developed.

He said: “I had ideas in my head and I approached it as if it was a horror film, where the music is a really important factor.

“I had my first responses when I initially read the script, then Noreen [Kershaw, director] and I had a long chat and I went into rehearsals and listened to a read through.

“I made changes during rehearsals to make sure it sat in the production.

“I do a lot of music for theatre shows. It is basically about emphasising the atmosphere.

“It has been interesting to watch the shows in a critical way to see how the music fitted, and watch as members of the audience have really enjoyed getting into the atmosphere.

“It’s been very different and a brave move for the venue, but I really think it’s worked.”

MISERY ends its nightly run on Saturday.