Twelfth Night

Everyman Theatre, Liverpool

4 Stars

As the government continues to wreck our cultural heritage by slashing funding for the arts, a little ray of sunshine broke out across Liverpool last week as one of the city's gems reopened after nearly three years in darkness.

It took 10 years to plan and over two years to construct but the new Everyman is looking great.

At the heart of the Liverpool theatre scene for decades, many leading actors like Julie Walters, Cathy Tyson, David Morrissey and Bernard Hill started their careers on the Hope Street stage.

Some may be nostalgic for the shabby chic of the original but the new venue is excellent with a wonderfully comfortable auditorium.

Twelfth Night is a great choice to open the revamped theatre. The plot is pure bonkers - boy falls in love with girl who may actually be a boy and is in love with someone else and has a twin who may or may not be dead - this is Shakespeare on speed.

But what is unique about the play is that the comic fools, who normally inhabit the fringes of Shakespeare's plays, are at its core.

There is a fantastic performance by Paul Duckworth as the fool Feste. his broad scouse accent enriching the wit and pathos of the dialogue. Matthew Kelly and Adam Keast are equally brilliant as Sir Toby Belch and Sir Andrew Aguecheek. The interplay between the three is exceptional, often hilarious but at times incredibly sad.

It's a truly ensemble piece with heart-warming performances from the entire cast.

The Everyman's artistic director Gemma Bodinetz keeps the action moving at pace and by the end the audience have smiles as broad as the besotted Malvolio, who believed a fixed grin would win the heart of his mistress.

After what must have been an exhausting three hours for the actors, they returned with a Slumdog Millionaire-esque dance-off which sent the punters home in good heart.

A fantastic new building and a bravura opening portends a great future for Liverpool's cultural life - and there wasn't a Beatle cliché in sight.

Runs until April 5. Box office (0151) 709-4776.