To take on Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream and condense it into an hour’s worth of child-friendly theatre is no mean feat.

The play itself is full of magic, misunderstandings and mistaken identities – the latter, in this particular production, confused rather more by the fact there are only two performers playing nine different parts.

However, each role is beautifully crafted by both Antonia Christophers and Noel Byrne of Box Tale Soup. They inject a real sense of fun whilst showcasing some mind-boggling verbal dexterity – especially when using the charming puppets which help bring to life the magical world in which we find ourselves.

Here, Shakespeare’s tale is edited down to a more manageable size, and yet the complexity of the plot coupled with the language could still be a bridge too far for many young theatre-goers.

The last 20 minutes of Monday’s show certainly saw a surge in fidgeting and whispering among the under-tens, which is a shame as this small but perfectly formed theatre company is offering them a warm, witty and welcome introduction to arguably our country’s greatest playwright.

THREE STARS