Xerxes Iford Manor, Bath

The trouble with writing for the stage is that sometimes plays, and operas too, are too far ahead of their time. That means that while in one decade or century they flop in a big way, in the next they are hailed as masterpieces and everyone flocks to see them.

Handel's Xerxes is a case in point. In the 1730s it ran for only five nights in London's West End and was then pulled. Sadly for Handel though, other operas which are today watched with relish suffered the same fate.

Strange about Xerxes too when you consider that the opera actually opens with a mournful aria that is now one of the great man's best loved and most frequently listened to pieces of music.

But the opera has several other well known tunes including a beautiful one with voice and answering recorder.

But I suspect that the 18th century performances in the Haymarket were not quite as lively as those performed by members of Iford Festival Opera with La Nuova Musica in the glorious Italianate cloisters in the garden at Iford Manor, which may have had something to do with the opera's fate.

The storyline has any number of criss-crossing romances which gives director David Freeman lots of scope for bringing in plenty of colour and humour.

The voices are glorious but at Iford it is the acting by which productions stand or fall. No trouble here with this company even though the singers faces are never more than a few feet away from any member of the audience in the tiny, intimate cloisters. What we get is a wonderful romantic romp with two brothers, three lovers and Xerxes' famous bridge linking Asia to Greece which at Iford is reduced to miniscule proportions.

What could be better than seeing any Handel opera through a curtain of foliage in one of the most beautiful gardens in England?

Rigoletto opens on Saturday with Iford Festival Opera and the Pepys Ensemble. Tickets on 01225 448844.

Christopher Hansford

Sparkleshark Next Stage Youth Mission Theatre, Bath

When someone tells you you're going to see an educational performance, for young people, about bullying, usually you'd be forgiven for cringing at the thought.

However, Sparkleshark caused no cringing, and was engaging throughout.

Sparkleshark, is a play that sees kids from different points of the social spectrum come together, coincidentally on a rooftop. They begin by disliking one another, fearing one another, until they find themselves collaborating in writing an imaginative fairytale.

The cast from Bath's Next Stage Youth charmed the audience with their unique charisma, inducing laughter at all the right moments.

Each character had a different story to tell, each one portrayed clearly. The actors playing the main parts had a lot of lines to learn, but remembered them without fault, while the actors with fewer lines also gave strong performances.

It was evident in the smooth flow of the performance that some good teamwork had taken place.

With the youthfulness and contagious energy of Next Stage Youth, not a member of the audience left the theatre without a smile.

Julie Knight