This is the tale that inspired the world's greatest love story: Shakespeare's

Romeo and Juliet. It is a fable of star-crossed lovers who, although from feuding families, are determined to find each other no matter what the consequences.

Ton und Kirschen, the German-based travelling theatre company which has devised this production, bases its style of theatre on the methods of the

French master of mime, Jacques le Coq.

Here it is acting, not language, that is the primary focus. The spoken word becomes but another tool in a deceptively simple armoury which includes bells, masks, simple acrobatics and a robust if effective musical score.

The two families - depicted as competing funeral corteges - clash and feud while somehow Pyrame and Thisbi meet and fall in love. An illicit rendezvous is arranged, but fate intervenes and both lovers are transported to another world to conclude their romance.

Under the direction of David Johnston and Margarete Biereye, the dozen or so cast members perform as one organism and between them produce a magical, moving, yet never affected piece of theatre. A deeply satisfying experience.