And a nightingale sang

Susan Wood's geordie accent was perfect for the part of Helen in C.P. Taylor's World War II tale at Bingley Little Theatre.

The story of family life was told through Helen's eyes, complete with the full sound effects of war torn Newcastle, and Susan played her part to near perfection.

The rest of the players' accents faltered somewhat, except Philip Jordan's Birmingham twang as Norman, the soldier that handicapped Helen falls for in a big way.

But that was a minor criticism at Monday's first night. As usual all the seven-strong cast played their parts well and there were lots of chuckles in Peter Stansfield's production.

The set design, with an air raid shelter cleverly concealed in a lift up flap at the front of the stage, was ingenious and all credit to designer Pip Durant and his building team

Sylvia Thompson