If you are a fan of Twelfth Night, Oxford is certainly the place to be. In June I enjoyed an excellent production at the Pegasus theatre, and Oriel hosted another version that month. Now, at the Playhouse, comes the third production of this Shakespearean perennial from the English Touring Theatre.

I'm certainly not complaining, as this is undoubtedly one of my favourite plays: a light and joyful affair, blending disguise, mistaken identity, farce and wit, yet shot through with melancholy. The line, 'Youth's a stuff will not endure' sticks in the mind, and the sad song of Feste the clown takes us to the curtain, after the happy lovers have skipped from the stage.

A brief summary: Sebastian and Viola are twins are cast into the sea in a storm, finding their separate ways to the land of Illyria. Both think the other has perished. Viola dresses herself as a boy, and enters into the service of the drippy Count Orsino, in love with the beautiful Countess Olivia. Viola (calling herself Cesario) tries to woo Olivia on her master's behalf. Olivia, however, falls in love with Cesario, who has in turn fallen in love with Orsino. Of course, after much confusion, everything works out in the end.

Meanwhile, there is a farcical subplot involving two drunken knights, a self-important steward, a clown, a forged letter, and a pair of yellow stockings. And really, what more could you ask for from a play?

In many ways this production is a thoroughly traditional rendition. The costumes are Elizabethan - ruffs, doublet and hose and so on - and Michael Cronin's swaggering, roaring, thigh-slappingly Falstaffian Toby Belch is typically 'Shakespearean'. The actors in the central roles make their characters charming and likeable (apart from Orsino, who is far too self-absorbed and misogynistic to like very much), and the scenes in which the characters talk to themselves and to each other about love are believable and touching. The director steers clear of milking the more farcical scenes, making the play less laugh-out-loud funny than it might be.

The traditional costumes contrast pleasingly with the sparse, contemporary set: clean rectangular lines frame a stylised print of the sea, which is a constant presence in the outdoor scenes. This backdrop is certainly apt: a shipwreck is the catalyst of the action, and nautical and watery references and metaphors run through this briny play.

This understated Twelfth Night makes for an entertaining evening. Don't expect any clever staging techniques or radical new interpretations, but a straightforward production that highlights above all the poetry of the text - lyrical, joyful, and bittersweet.

George Tew, 9.9.04