It took the ear a while to get used to the downsized orchestra; after all, reducing a full orchestral complement to a ten-piece band is a big hit, but once they were up and running the instrumental intimacy quickly became the norm - and the playing was uniformly very good indeed.

Soprano Lucy Jubb's opening gambit set the vocal tone for the evening - very accomplished and on top of her game, and the succeeding trio with Ian Thomson-Smith, a confident Julia Ledger and David Reston as the blustering Dr Blind was, despite some first night jitters, great fun.

As was the following trap-baiting duet between Mr Thomson-Smith (excellent all evening) and Tom Forrest.

The cheeky choreography (Pauline Marshall) cleverly married the daft, blokeish distractions. David Neild's portrayal of Rosalind's suitor, Alfred, as an arm-waving, wine-guzzling Hercule Poirot was inspired. He could sing a bit too!

The second-act ball costumes (Maggie Soper) were simply stunning, as was Katrina Attwood's larger-than-life Russian accent, Ms Jubb's aria with excellent "mocking" woodwind support and Ms Ledger's virtuosic ode to "Hungarian" music.

The orchestral playing seemed to get better and better, and throughout the second act it was top drawer, the closing moments bristling with vitality. And from the sublime to the ridiculous, Ian Small's drunken jailor was hilarious.

There were many highlights, but it is director Alasdair Jamieson who must take the bow.

PS. It needs a bigger venue

Updated: 11:10 Wednesday, October 27, 2004