Like his protagonist, Tristan Bernays begins nervous-eyed and reticent, but by the end of his tale, and our experience, he has transformed into a bacchanalian hero and Homeric bard we'd all gladly follow dancing into the fields of corn.

I'm not sure I've ever seen a delivery like this performance. I was trying to come up with adjectives but they all seem a bit inadequate in the face of Bernays' relentless energy and delivery. The usher who showed us out likened it to music, with the drums and percussion, violins and sweeping crescendos of a perfectly pitched overture.

I could tell you that the story takes the premise that John Barleycorn wakes up in modern day London, and runs with it. Or that the set gave us something to look at without being particularly memorable but really I'd be missing the point that this show is all about the experience of storytelling. Not a soft, cuddly fairytale storytelling but a tale that is fierce and violent, sometimes barked, sometimes almost sung.

Look up Bread and Beer and if it's near you, find it and definitely keep an eye on our hero Tristan. From a selfish Oxford perspective this show reminded me once again how lucky we are to have the BT programming work like this in Oxford. The audience was definitely smaller than it deserved to be and I know I'm often guilty of not taking a punt on a show or actor I haven't heard of, but the genius of the BT is that it's cheap, and usually only about an hour long - time for dinner before and a drink after to discuss; a nearly perfect evening.