"SACRE BLEU!", the cry went up all over Basingstoke.

The news that there would be a play performed in another language (gasp!) as part of the Haymarket's French Season sent shockwaves through the streets and houses.

But sleep easy, natives, as having had a chat with the man behind it all, I'm reassured - and very much looking forward to finding out for myself just what on earth it's all going to involve.

Alasdair explains the reason behind his choice: "I was looking for a show to do in French and I thought Shakespeare would be ideal because people know about him and the plays he has written. There's a familiarity there. So I made some enquiries and found a company who would be worth a look.

"I went to France, saw the show and thought it was fabulous. It was like watching an opera, the scale on such a grand level. There were only nine actors involved but it looked like a production at Covent Garden because it had that gorgeous sense of epic. They have worked on this for three or four years now, so everything is detailed to perfection.

"It's about having a French director and I thought 'Let's get that French treatment of an English writer'.

"I find it fascinating how another culture sees Shakespeare, because they can only ever know it through translation, which gives such a fresh perspective on the plays and their meaning."

Okay, I'm beginning to believe this, but having a mere fleeting memory of my GCSE French (if I'm honest, not remembering any of it at all), and of the play itself, will I really be able to understand what's happening on stage?

"Absolutely, because there's that extra element on top of the script, and this translation is still in the original metre so an audience will be able to follow the rhyming schemes. When you are watching, you can recognise the famous speeches as the rhythms are exactly the same," Alasdair insists.

"Thought and emotion is what the actors are doing and you don't need language to express that. What you may miss is the nuance, but not the general picture. Subtitles and a very detailed synopsis will be available, so if you read that summary, you will know everything that's happening on stage."

You've got me - I'm there. But any final words to convert the reluctant citizens of Basingstoke?

"People are very nervous but it's just about coming along and having a new and totally original theatrical experience. The actors are so good and it is so detailed that I just don't think it will make a difference."

So come on, vive la difference! And don't miss this genuinely once-in-a-lifetime chance to see the Bard go Gallic.

Richard III in French opens at the Haymarket Theatre on Thursday at 7.15pm and runs until Saturday Tickets are available from the box office on 01256 465566.