On offer, should you need time out to laugh, are two polished bits of buffoonery.

The ‘mad spirit’ that romps through Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream is rampant in this compilation of the excerpts which make up Bottom’s Tale . Director Robert Gilbert’s ebullient sense of comedy extends into the second half, a spoof on Macbeth entitled Mr and Mrs The Scottish Play, so that the time passes very quickly and laughs abound where no laughs ever were. 

Poetry takes a back seat but the ride is so lighthearted and the pace so dashing that ‘Bill’ is the winner yet again.

The young company, made up of graduates of the Aranui Theatre Academy, has just completed a national tour and if there ever were untidy moments in their work, these have been overtaken by ease and fluency. Their energy is rarely less than full on. Their ensemble work is totally assured and their relish of the roles infectious.

The first piece opens a little startlingly with percussive sounds calling and responding from opposite sides of the stage. This extends into a ‘conversation’ between two balloons morphing into the general tomfoolery of Puck himself, played with great merriment and dexterity by the delightfully diminutive Andrew Bolitho.

Umbrellas and wacky costuming (ragged tutus, tights and wellies) help sustain the mood as haughty Titania and hapless Bottom are set up for our entertainment. Clever cutting allows for some doubling. Oberon and Flute are played with delectation by Steven Keen, well-matched by Sara Ninness as Titania and Ruth Wilson’s earnest Bottom. Fi Glasgow’s First Fairy/ Peaseblossom has a lot of fun with the roles, finding a fresh face for the familiar ‘interview’ with Puck and everywhere a most engaging busy-ness.

And so it goes on. Mr and Mrs The Scottish Play has fun with the superstition about voicing ‘Macbeth’. The same line up of actors combine vigorous Geordie antics with those three endlessly do-able witches (Which Witch, Spell Witch and Weird Witch) to cover the dreadful tale in a twinkle.

Once again, costume plays an important part in setting the tone and heightening the high jinks. Beryl Ramsay builds effective detail into every colourful turnout.

It is, as expected , an ensemble now working with practised ease. A dimmer pack failing them disconcerted no one, least of all the audience. What is more remarkable is the freshness and sparkle still pumping from their wonderfully diverting performance, at the end of a long tour .

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