THE Diary of Anne Frank at the Theatre Royal Bath is a haunting production that cannot fail to move the harshest critic.

The diary of a 13-year-old girl may not at face value seem the most inviting basis of a two-hour play, but the name Anne Frank has become synonymous with the Holocaust and her naïve, adolescent writings serve to emphasis the injustice and horrors of the Nazi regime.

Brought to the stage by the Touring Consortium Theatre Company and York Theatre Royal, The Diary of Anne Frank is a simple production with just 11 cast members and one set – the annexe complete with squeaky floorboards.

The play begins on July 5 1942 when the Frank family, including youngest daughter Anne, played by Amy Dawson, move into hiding in a secret annexe at Otto Frank’s workplace in Amsterdam.

They are joined by the van Daan family and eventually Albert Dussel, these names are changed for the play in reality they were the Van Pel family and Fritz Pfeffer.

The play follows the eight over two years as they struggle to live in close confinement, restricted in what they can do, and eating rations brought to them by Mr Kraler and Miep Gies.

Amy Dawson gives a fantastic performance as Anne – a teenage girl hormonal, trapped and scared.

Veteran actors Christopher Timothy as Otto Frank, and Steven Pinder as Mr van Daan, give convincing performances as two fathers desperate to protect their families but frightened of being discovered.

There are plenty of entertaining moments as the two families and Mr Dussel struggle to live together, but the spine-chilling sound of Hitler’s voice over a radio broadcast and the subtle arrival of a German security officer at the end is a harsh reminder of where the story is leading.

In the final scene the eight characters are led from the stage by the German security officer to the sound of a steam train and a screaming woman, followed by a poignant monologue by Timothy, who as Otto Frank was the only one of the group to survive the war – the others all died in either Auschwitz or Bergen-Belsen.

The Diary of Anne Frank, which will be at the Theatre Royal Bath until Saturday, May 19, is not to be missed.