Based on the commedia classic Mirandolina by Goldoni, this production by local theatre company A27 took the brave step of placing its audience in the action, as diners in the titular owner's Italian inn.

Weaved around a three-course meal supplied by Komedia's kitchen, Mareike Wagner's Mirandolina fended off unwanted attention from an impoverished marquis and a flashy Mafia don and ignored the true love of a lowly waiter while using her feminine wiles to capture the heart of a misogynist army captain. It was a typically light-hearted tale that evoked images of intimate tables in a bistro setting, candlelight, good food and good company.

It's a shame, then, that the idea never got a chance to fly due to ill-advised decisions by the venue. Squeezing in the crowd eight to a table and serving up a selection of bland courses, the recreated atmosphere of a buzzing Firenze eatery was transposed to a badly organised school canteen.

All of which failed to boost A27's spirited but fruitless performance. Certainly staying true to Goldoni's frantic style, with music, farce and a geography lesson thrown into the mix, it was nevertheless too provincial a production to work in a city with a more refined palette.

At £25 a ticket it wasn't a cheap night out and the amount of wine required to wash down some of the more painful rhyming couplets only added to the expense.