Nine, Theatre 2000, Regent Centre, Christchurch

ONCE again this innovative company has gone out on a limb to perform a show that the majority will never have heard of, let alone seen.

It centres around Guido Contini, an Italian film director undergoing a personal and professional crisis, and although the story can at times be difficult to follow since it is told partly in flashback, it is performed brilliantly.

Using only a large table and several chairs as the set, Albert Brown's production nevertheless conjures up the passion of Italy, and in particular Venice, quite superbly, and he has a cast to die for.

I just could not fault Alex Cook as Guido, nor a very assured Patrick Marsdon as his younger self.

There are magnificent performances too from the women in his life: his wife Luisa (Clare Gray), Carla his mistress (Emma Purchase), his mother (Valerie Gillard), film critic Stephanie Necrophorus (Georgina Luff), his producer Liliane La Fleur (Gaynor Adnett), leading lady Claudia (Tracey Barrington) and a whore, Saraghina (Glinys Luff).

Singing and acting are spot-on and there is a first-class orchestra led by musical director Lee Marchant, making this show a real must-see if you want to experience amateur theatre at its absolute best.