Here in this show we had all the pathos, passion and humour played out. The wry one-liners came so fast I couldn't get half of them down. Bob and Moira marry their daughters off well with the aid of Yente (Echo Irving) the matchmaker. She has one of the early one-liners - "You want hair? Marry a monkey!"

The schemes don't go according to plan. The dutiful daughters want to choose their own husbands. The stage presence of Model, played by Alex Giorgetti, was outstanding. Then along comes Perchik the rebel (Tom Jewell), the catalyst for change. When he declares money to be a curse, Tevye wishes God would strike him with it. "If you spit in the air it will land in your face".

The praying song was so moving in candlelight. The lighting and effects throughout were terrific - smoke, and in the dream scene the audience was bathed in the Aurora Borealis. When the rehearsals were in the early stages a veteran performer was heard to say, "the singing's lovely but the dancing's like a herd of Buffalo".

Well, Mandy Moy and Emma Devine certainly knocked those substantially built villagers into disciplined routines.

Amongst the cameo performances I loved Fred Cowgill's doddery old Rabbi whose answer to heated arguments was to "sit down". I was half-scared by Christine Parnham's screechy old Granny spook in the dream scene. The orchestra conducted by Les Morley was excellently led by Martha Broadbent -her input was invaluable, I hear. The wedding goes ahead for Tzeitel (Kate Morley) and Motel (Peter Inman) but trouble is brewing and although Tevye has prayed "God keep the Tsar and keep him well away from us!" the authorities come to evict the little community at three days' notice.

What a lovely touch was the sad procession moving along backstage as Tevye and Golde moved their meagre belongings and their family away. We are happy to know that Model got her man, Perchik, but he has been imprisoned in Siberia.

The audience will surely have gone away singing the lovely songs - I can't get "Sunrise, sunset" out of my head. Thanks everyone for a great show.

Rosemary Hodges