INNOCENT affection is mistaken for betrayal and adultery in this fascinating production by all-male Shakespeare company Propeller.

Passionate stirrings of sexual jealousy and madness are suddenly awakened in the King of Sicilia, Leontes, during a visit from his old childhood friend Polixenes, King of Bohemia. Convinced of an affair between his wife Hermione and Polixenes, he orders the murder of his friend, the incarceration of his eight months pregnant wife, and the eventual cruel abandonment of their baby daughter. But Leontes has rejected the advice of the gods and a terrible punishment befalls him when his much loved son is killed. He tries to take it back, but it is too late?

This is a production of two very different halves, both visually and thematically. Sicilia is a sombre, threatening place, the fragile atmosphere broken by the harsh, forced laugh of the increasingly disturbed King. The blue-grey set is warmed only occasionally by flickering candlelight. Bohemia, on the other hand, is lush, verdant and colourful; its flamboyant characters fun loving, outrageous and full of energy. But on return to Sicilia, when reconciliation is in the air, the bleak mood reappears as the "tyrant king" is haunted by the poignant ghost of his dead son. The superb cast explores the text to the full, bringing new insight and imagination to the characters in this excellent, if disturbing, tragic romance.

* Runs until Saturday. Box Office: 0870 9055060.

Published: 27/05/2005