The Two Gentlemen of Verona at the Tobacco Factory Theatre, Bristol

It might have seemed a long way to go to see one of the seven remaining Shakespeare plays I have not seen performed. But the invitation from Paul and Miranda to join them and five other friends was irresistible. I would also be able to stay the night which made it all possible. Apparently their group always has dinner before the play at a Lebanese restaurant called the Souk Kitchen (www.soukitchen.co.uk) right opposite the theatre. This is middle eastern cuisine and I have to say the Persian Fish Curry was outstanding.

On to the play. As my handbook says, productions are rare today (even more reason to catch this performance) probably because of it's lightweight and flimsy plot and the “more general disaster of the play’s of the play’s final scene, which strikes nearly every reader and director as unthinkable”. This was Shakespeare's first romantic comedy, and it shows. But that is not to say it was a disappointment. Far from it. This production was great fun, Andrew Hilton directs with pace and verve and the actors respond. The verse is spoken with clarity and humour. The two gentlemen and the objects of their desire are witty and proud. But like most of his comedies, it is the clowns who steal the show, this time two men and a ...... .Chris Donnelly as Launce and Marc Geoffrey as Speed keep us entertained. The former has us in stitches as he tells us about the antics of Crab, his ...... and who is the real star of the show.