was pretty bleak. In those post-war austerity years before the Beatles were invented and people muddled through rationing and powdered egg, life couldn't have been a barrel of laughs.

So imagine how you would feel if you'd walked out of one marriage to a man you couldn't love and straight into the arms of a former fighter pilot with a drink problem who couldn't love you. Pretty bad eh? It gets worse. Sent over the edge by a petty incident, your suicide attempt ends in failure because you don't have enough change to keep the gas meter ticking over.

All this might not sound like an enjoyable evening's entertainment but the BMDS's adaptation of this Terrance Rattigan play certainly seemed to keep last night's opening night audience enthralled throughout the nearly-three-hour-long performance.

As the programme notes explain this is `a story of relationships that have gone wrong and in the wake of the inevitable break-ups, there is a mess of human emotion, passion and confusion'. But what also shines through is the strength of the human spirit and our ability to sometimes laugh in the face of adversity.

Rattigan's script is certainly crammed with gut-wrenching emotion, moments of desperation and sadness. But there are also lighter touches that his characters lend to the plot, creating a roller-coaster ride of reactions, well suited to the intimacy of the Daylesford Theatre.

The dialogue wasn't wasted on last night's cast. Jo Shane, playing the central character of Hester Collyer, was quite superb as the scorned woman whose only choice in life seems to be no choice at all. She was ably supported by Phillip Jones as her sometimes thoughtless lover while Kelvin Hastings-Smith put in one of his strongest performances as the jilted but thoroughly decent husband.

Barbara Jones' portrayal of that classic stereotype, the busy-body landlady was spot-on while the rest of the supporting cast, including BMDS stalwart Thomas Saunders, kept the play ticking over. Special mention should be made of Eli Lavelanet, who, although only played a small role, seems to posses a natural, relaxed stage presence.

Credit should also go to the set department, who created a suitably drab 1950s' interior. Sadly, the same cannot be said of the costume department.

While the programme notes also point out that `the play is set in post-war England in the fifties but this is really irrelevant as it could have been set almost anywhere for the story is as old as time itself. True -- perhaps -- but nevertheless half the characters looked as though they'd just been on a shopping trip to Marks and Spencers. Where were the brylcream and pencil moustaches? This is only a minor criticism in what can only be described as an extremely powerful play which has been put together superbly by the ever-talented Jane McCulloch. Whether it's high drama or just plain old high camp, it seems BMDS is capable of presenting either with a certain flourish.

GARETH FINIGHAN