With his 1972 play, ‘Absurd Person Singular’, Alan Ayckbourn had his first real hit. Three sets of couples (and one you never get to meet) meet on successive Christmas’s at each other’s houses – the kitchen to be precise; as the years pass, the balance within the couples and between the different ones changes considerably.

As with many of Ayckbourns characters, these are damaged and unhappy people; their marriages far from perfect; it is the arc of each of their stories which intrigues and entertains. Sidney Hopcraft is ambitious in work and invites guests he wants to impress, but is let down by his socially awkward wife Jane, who is frantic to try and please her husband; Brandon Eady and Katherine Dodds set the characters up perfectly. Spot on performances from both a physical and vocal perspective. The local bank manager, Ronald and his wife, Marion, are a far cry from the Hopcrafts; James Pellow is subservient to his spouse initially; it is a wonderfully rounded performance. As Marion, Emily Outred is sensational; full of insincerities and an arch-snob to boot; a comic triumph. Geoffrey is a vile misogynist and he treats his wife, Eva, appallingly – Bryant is superb and his immense monologue at the start of Act II is outstanding. Laura Mead, likewise, shows what talent she possesses, most obviously in Act II where she is virtually mute throughout as she attempts various forms of suicide – the empty stare, the quiet determination; brilliant.

Anton Tweedale directs with such care; care for the writer’s work and for the characters, he knows just how to effectively craft the production to get the most from it.

Three acts and three different kitchens – it is a tall order and not one to be taken on lightly. The superb work of Andrew Beckett and James Prendergast cannot be underestimated here and when the gap between the first two acts is under two minutes, it is no wonder the audience gasps and bursts into applause.

Over 50 years on from its premiere the play still works well, the lurch into absurdist drama in Act II where the humour is generated by the characters unaware of what Eva is trying to achieve, is uncomfortable to watch at times as is, to an extent, Sidney’s sadistic humiliation of the other couples at the end of the play.

Ayckbourn hasn’t had many big hits in the last twenty years, but this is a reminder of just what a clever dramatist he really is.