It is a bold move to set up a professional theatre company in Lewes, and one that surely deserves support.

In true repertory tradition, its aim is to offer a changing programme throughout the year with the same core of actors.

Having obtained Arts Council funding, it has been possible to acquire premises to provide an acting space: the spacious old commercial garage is being turned into a theatre. But if this project is to succeed, a drastic rethink of what to perform must take place.

While the first play in this triple bill, Chekhov's The Bear, proved entertaining, with good performances from Sarah Hutchinson and Sean O'Kane, the second piece was a disaster.

Adapted (and directed) by O'Kane from a short story by Charles Dickens, The Signalman's End was a pretentious mishmash of ideas.

It had the ghosts of some of Dickens' characters spouting Shakespeare and Samuel Butler, seeking redemption and thereby ending their long journey through limbo.

It may have served O'Kane's vanity to present this overlong, incomprehensible piece but it did nothing to hold the audience's attention.

However, despite the paucity of the material, Joanna Stephens and Ben Hadley gave good performances as Miss Haversham and Bill Sykes.

The final offering returned to the more accessible Chekhov's Swansong.

As a lover of good theatre, one desperately hopes this project will survive, but for that to happen, serious thought must be given to the future choice of productions.