NICK Lane and Fiona Wass are to marry on August 25. In the meantime, Nick is directing his actress fiancee in The Studio production of John Godber's April In Paris at York Theatre Royal. In April, they played a feuding husband and wife in Terry Johnson's caustic farce Dead Funny on the theatre's main stage.

Work and pleasure go together for the happy couple.

"I enjoy working with Nick, and we've done that here at Hull Truck," says Fiona. "I know it's a common question, as people say 'Oh, I couldn't work with my partner', but in this profession, a lot of time is spent on tour away from each other, so it's nice to be working with your loved one."

Nick, who is in the director's chair for a Theatre Royal production for the first time, has previously directed Fiona, and her April In Paris co-star Eamonn Fleming, in another Godber two-hander, September In The Rain last autumn.

This time, Fiona is playing Bet, a woman fed up with the everyday and desperately keen to spice up her life on her first holiday abroad with the reluctant Al, a stoical Yorkshireman who is wary of the French way of life.

"Nick's not a very bossy director - and if he is, I can get away with being more bossy at home," says Fiona, who lives with Nick in Thorne, just outside Doncaster.

It should be pointed out that Nick was out of the rehearsal room at the time, taking a phonecall, but on his return, he was informed of Fiona's jest. He smiled.

How are the wedding plans progressing, Nick? "I've got a lot on at the moment, so Fi keeps giving me a glance every so often as if to say 'I'm doing everything and you're doing nothing'."

Asked what he is doing, Nick says: "I'm doing a bit of telly for John Godber, Thunder Road for the BBC, and I'm adapting Lady Chatterley's Lover for Hull Truck. There's no date for the production yet but they wanted me to get my adaptation done."

Nick and Fiona are smiling at each other as Nick adds: "So, that's my concession to helping with the wedding! I'm trying to get the money in to pay for the reception - so I will be doing something soon to help towards the wedding day, if only to stop Fi throwing shoes at me!"

He has been delighted to work with Fiona and Eamonn in his Theatre Royal directorial debut. "It's absolutely fine doing this show with Fi, and Eamonn too. Because these are my early steps on the road to being a director, I've found it useful to use actors I trust.

"I've seen Fi in everything she's done because we met at Hull Truck; she and Eamonn were my first choice for September In The Rain last year, and it's good to be doing April In Paris with them too."

So, Bet and Al are off to Paris for a holiday. What about Paris for Fiona and Nick's honeymoon? "Oh no, it'll be somewhere a lot warmer," says Fiona. Nick wasn't arguing.

Grey Yorkshire will meet gay Paris in April In Paris from July 4 to August 3 in The Studio, York Theatre Royal. Box office: 01904 623568.

Updated: 10:25 Friday, June 28, 2002