The revival of Priestley’s ‘The Long Mirror’ -

I felt Michael Friend had found the right balance between realism and expressionism. The background suggests that the plot is based on people Priestley knew, but a contemporary audience will always see psychic phenomena as part of the dream world, not the real world. So an entirely realistic production wouldn't match the subject. On the other hand, you had a very solid, credible set, down to the Victor dog logo on the windup gramophone!

It was good to see David Manson again, his fine, energetic persona always 100 percent engaged in what he is doing. Actually, the low-volume lines he gave were even more impressive than the all-out moments, though of course he has an amazing instrument capable of reaching the back balcony in the largest theatre. 

I was especially moved by Eva Gray's performance, vulnerable, searching, delicate as it was. I noticed that she continues working even during the other performer's speeches, especially with her very communicative eyes. I suppose we could describe what happens to Branwyn as a small-scale tragedy and Gray was able to convey its sorrow and its limits very clearly.

Amanda Sterkenburg made it credible for us how Camber might want to leave Valerie, no matter how blonde and pretty she was. Her sense of betrayal and anger made her hard and cold, yet the characterisation softens during the exchange between the two women, so that we warm to her and understand her plight.

Mrs Tenbury is a type we don't see so much nowadays, hence the human interest she inspires; Karin Fernald understands her perfectly, avoiding anything like caricature, and Simon Purdey's Thomas provided a bluff, straightforward foil to the rarefied conflicts underway.