The Seagull - Lighthouse, Poole

HOW wise of Compass Theatre Company to use Tom Stoppard's perceptive and highly accessible version of Chekov's classic.

The melange of interwoven relationships is as relevant today as when conceived more than a century ago.

Poor Konstantin has a self-obsessed actress mother, is jealous of her lover and has an unrequited love for his neighbour Nina.

Matters are not improved by his own struggles as a writer and the object of his desire running off with his mother's beau.

Add a teacher bemoaning pay and conditions - some things never change - and a brace of unhappy marriages.

Not ingredients for a comedy, but a talented cast, adroit direction and clever staging achieve a generous measure of humour and beautifully wry observation from such apparently bleak ingredients.

There are even moments of comedy that smack of Ab Fab as well as subtle touches of characterisation reminiscent of Austin.