Sir, we don’t know his actual name, leads his motley crew around the provinces during the Second World War, giving his Valpone, Othello, Macbeth and other great classic roles. His loyal troupe sticks with him through thick, thin and the blitz. There is Madge his long suffering stage-manager who is secretly in love with him, a cast of second-rate actors and Norman, his loyal dresser. But Sir is at the end of his tether and one night it looks as though he will not be turning up to play Lear, his signature role . . .

I have said it before on these pages – and no doubt I will say it again – that generally speaking I look forward to seeing contemporary dance companies more than I do straight theatre. One is often disappointed by drama productions, even those that have impeccable credentials but I for one am rarely, if ever, disappointed by modern dance . . . Phoenix Dance Theatre is celebrating its 35th anniversary and, to my shame, this is the first time I have seen them. And I wasn’t disappointed.

Funny things, clowns. Often funny ha-ha but always funny peculiar . . . Although the story would make a very readable book, and perhaps is more suitable for a radio play, it provides a vehicle for which any actor of a certain age would gladly give his eye teeth. Alan Coveney gave a faultless, tour de force performance that was a privilege to witness.

Garden was at times funny, often well observed, usually perceptive but always sad . . . It’s a simple story, but the best ones often are. Lucy Grace’s performance also had simplicity to it but, more than that, it had a depth and sincerity that managed to convey the loneliness and despair behind an exterior that always tried to be bright and cheery. I was impressed and it is not often I am so pleasantly surprised. I enjoyed Garden very much.

Footloose first saw the light of day as a 1984 film starring a youthful Kevin Bacon as the high-spirited lad up-rooted from his home in Chicago and dumped in dreary Bomont, a small town in West Virginia where dancing has been banned by the town’s preacher following the death of four local teenagers who crashed their car while returning from a dance . . .