What a delightful way to spend a cold winter's evening, immersed in a - new to me - Shakespearean play The Winter's Tale. The church has been refurbished and is very comfortable, and the brilliantly designed, simple set means that the flow of the play is not interrupted by scenery changes. The tale is of jealousy and loss, romance and happiness, and comedy and tragedy. Shakespeare at his best. Don't Hate the Players have done several of his plays and this is to their usual high standards. King Leontes is good when angry, but better when quietly speaking of his sorrow at his stupidity - a real lump in the throat, blink hard moment. Paulina is excellent as the only person brave enough to stand up to him, but even she struggles to persuade him to see the error of his suspicions. Something I do like here is the mix of ages of the actors - far more realistic. They are comfortable with the language too, it sounds natural.

As an antidote to the stresses of Christmas I strongly recommend catching their final 4 nights this week.