Quirky themes and a tongue-in-cheek attitude linked these seven playlets performed in this bijou and friendly space.

To list them in order would be to do a disservice to the shining jewel – Joy by Andrew Allen, starring the author and Lana Harper.

Their offering was beautifully-written, sharply played, and based on a charming idea – a lone, but “not creepy and desperate” guy turning up at a dating agency as it is closing down due to the fact that everyone in the world is a happy couple at the moment.

Return To Steyning by Richard Hearn and starring Sam Chittenden and Geoff Goble as a daughter and her elderly father on a pilgrimage to his childhood home, was also stand-out memorable for its crisp dialogue and believable interactions within a delightful scenario.

The other five plays all had clear themes – class, pregnancy, domestic abuse – and were well-written and energetically, if sometimes slightly haltingly, performed.

The much-trumpeted Rapid Response Play, however, was the one disappointing aspect of the evening, consisting of a bloke reading out a confusing commentary based around that day’s news.

But that aside, this was a refreshing and varied experience, featuring the abundant talents of a bunch of local enthusiasts.