light shining in buckinghamshire by Caryl Churchill

The cast for this reading comprised of Naomi Bentley, Tom Brooke, Monica Dolan, Paul Rhys, Tom Riley, Zubin Varla.

It was directed by Mark Ravenhill and the musical arrangements were by Colin Sell.

Sigh - this was amazing. A fantastic bit of writing performed so brilliantly. Every afternoon should be like this. There were no weak points at all. I would have preferred it if Paul Rhys had not held his script up in a way that obscured his gentle face but other than that, everyone gave a stand out and beautifully original performance.

I started to marry actors with characters but I should know better with Caryl's work! They were changing around and keeping us on our toes. I have seen an excerpt of this piece but never in the whole. I loved it and would jump at the chance to see a full production. There is so much to plunder from this point in history but the talent is to bring it to the viewer in a fresh and original way. This was it. Loved seeing those lovely big blue eyes of Tom Brooke again, adored Naomi Bentley's rapture and giggles. Tom Riley was deliciously relaxed and made the job look so easy. Paul was intense and it was fun to see Zubin stretching his musical muscles again. They all sang together with wonderful harmonies which is another thing I like about Caryl's older work and Colin Sell put that together beautifully. Could this really have just been a reading? Roll on Friday!!

Noteables in the audience: Danny Lee Wynter, Eddie Redmayne, Mel Kenyon