I had the impression much was at stake in bringing this, the first allprofessional play by InService Productions, to the stage.

The company's aim is to "build Brighton's reputation as a theatrical hotbed" and it has had sell-out successes with its youth theatre.

On Monday night the Mayor was in the audience, photographers were at the door and expectations were high.

In some respects, they were met - but not in all.

The acting is first-class. In particular, Sophie Hunter as Vittoria, the faithless wife at the centre of the tale, delivers some powerful scenes - especially when angrily defying the court trying her for her husband's murder.

Meanwhile Vittoria's dangerously ambitious sister, Flaminea, is played with great enthusiasm by Priyanga Burford. Also well worth watching is Richard Morrison, who plays three quite different characters - a cuckolded husband, a wonderfully over-the-top lawyer and the loyal (if murderous) Corporal Gasparo.

The production also has live musical accompaniment and cellist Laura Moody really builds the atmosphere as she coaxes an incredible range of sounds from her instrument.

The White Devil is a 400-year-old revenge tragedy in which the characters are driven by greed, lust and little else. In this production, the director, actor David Oyelowo, has brought the play into a modern, military academy setting and made several changes, including making Vittoria's two brothers her two sisters.

But how effective are these changes for the audience? I found myself switching between thinking "that works" and "that doesn't".

Vittoria in an unflattering scarlet suit seems an unlikely object of desire - whereas Flaminea's worldly comments on "what women want" have an extra edge delivered by a female soldier.

Jacobean touches, such as the use of poisoned pictures or the disguise of a monk's habit, remain - making the setting a distraction to a complicated but not necessarily complex tale.

I believe InService is here to stay - but it has to prove itself a true entertainer as well as an innovative explorer.