Shadowlands tells the love affair between Englishman C.S. Lewis and magnetic American Joy Gresham. With an age difference of 18 years and Lewis’s strong negative feelings towards remarriage, their coupling surprised the 1950s Oxford scene almost as much as it surprised them . . . this is a good piece of theatre, which soars when its best character is on-stage and occasionally drags when she is not. Younger audiences or those that prefer a little more action may not find so much to love here, but the story at its heart is not only of the heart, but delivered in an commendably heartfelt manner.

Haughty, hyper-liberal Emily (Emily Bowker) and fumbling Oliver (Alistair Whatley) are facing financial difficulties and relocate their small family from London to an undefined northern town in order to pinch pennies and live around what Emily so condescendingly calls “real people.” Here they meet their new neighbours – quiet receptionist Dawn (an under-utilised Kerry Bennett) and motor-mouthed postman Alan (Graeme Brookes). Both are true locals. Dawn has never moved street – she was born across the road.