BRITISH theatre has a time-honoured tradition of showing off its greatest plays in the glorious open air, but although the idea is romantic, outdoor productions are by no means easy to pull off.

Not only must the actors fight to be heard above traffic, sirens, noisy pubs and passers-by, last night's production of Twelfth Night outside the Minster also had to contend with regular tolls of the cathedral bell.

Stage management should be cleverly done so as to maximise non-existent outdoor acoustics and keep the audience so hooked on the action they forget they are sitting on cold, damp grass, they've forgotten the umbrella, and it's rapidly getting dark.

To the very great credit of last night's young actors, their exuberant performance pretty much ticked all the right boxes - no mean feat considering the chilly July weather.

Commonly considered one of Shakespeare's darkest comedies, Twelfth Night strikes an immediate chord with all those who have ever been humiliated in love - or just plain humiliated.

Has there ever been a man made a bigger fool of than hapless Malvolio? Even haughty Olivia does not escape embarrassment after flinging herself at the good-looking boy Cesario - who is not really a man at all, but the shipwrecked lady Viola.

As plots go, it's one of the more complicated, with plenty of cross-dressing and confused identities. But really, it's a play about love, mainly the unrequited kind.

Some directors have chosen to explore the blacker sides of this play, but last night's production went for a traditional rendering with sumptuous Elizabethan costumes and music.

The stand-out performance was Nicholas Holbek as Sir Toby Belch, a wine-soaked, swaggering part which he grabbed with glee, making perfect sense of every line while managing to act a highly-convincing drunk. Brother Jonny gave him terrific support as Sir Andrew Aguecheek, mincing across the stage in huge pantaloons, a petulant expression and swinging blond locks. Scenes between Belch, Aguecheek, Maria and Malvolio (excellent performances by Stacey Johnstone and Kit Hildyard) were great fun, with Joe Mills showing tremendous energy and a nice sense of comic timing as jester Feste and Rose Alexander splendidly ardent as Olivia.

Good, clean fun. But bring a brolly.

Updated: 11:03 Tuesday, July 26, 2005