The Rainbow Shakespeare company was set up to create professional Shakespeare productions "that the whole family could enjoy".

I'm not sure that Antony and Cleopatra is perfect family viewing, but the company do a superb job of entertaining the audience.

It was my second Antony and Cleopatra within a week and the fast-paced Rainbow production, courtesy of director Nicolas Young, was much more striking than the rather somnolent version being shown at Shakespeare's Globe. The battle scenes were well presented and the text is sensitively cut.

I was particularly glad to see the tedious scene with Cleopatra's treasurer excised although it was a shame to see the soothsayer's line about Charmian outliving her mistress removed, apart from anything else, it made nonsense.

There were some stirring performances too: Mark Bodicoat was a robust and martial Antony, well supported by Ross Muir's Octavius and Lee Payne's Enobarbus.

The only negative was the costume design: the plastic breastplates and Egyptian wigs had an unintentional comic effect. And did Cleopatra really need a costume change for every scene?

One other jarring note: the company is keen to boast that its patron is Judi Dench, so it should be able to spell her name correctly.

This, however, was a lucid production in a most attractive setting; it certainly made me keen to see further productions from this company.