Another play over...

Although producing Jean-Paul Sartre's No Way Out was challenging for the director and the cast, the play was positively received by the audience.

Wendy Rolph, on her directorial debut with a translation by Frank Hauser, staged the show brilliantly, coaxing her cast into adding expressive detail into a difficult and wordy play.

Robert Bush as revolutionary coward Garcin was highly praised for his performance as a man who admitted he was not very nice - and proved it.

Suzi Brinkler, as Ines the lesbian postal clerk, rose to the challenge admirably, creating a very believable character, and the only one who really understood that they were damned forever.

Melissa Badcock, in her first performance for HAmDramS, played rich bitch Estelle, coolly playing Garcin and Ines against each other for a place in her affections, and boasting of her misdeeds on Earth, but worrying over her lack of a mirror.

Finally, Adam Clow made the most of his time on stage as the Waiter, disinterestedly playing with a Rubik's cube whilst explaining the rules of Hell.

The stage was moved to the centre of the auditorium, enabling the audience to get up close and personal with the actors. A swelteringly hot day provided extra ambience in our non-air-conditioned theatre.

Following No Way Out was The Bear, by Anton Chekhov.

This translation, by Bernard Lawrence, set the play in Glasgow, and used Scottish dialect, which gave the actors a chance to hone their accents.

Helen Halpin was masterful as Flora McNeill, the widow whose dead husband owed money to the Bear of the title. Her insistence that she wanted to "put a bullet through your thick head" endeared her to many, while her wit and confidence made her a force to be reckoned with.

Colin Ransom played Andrew Baird (the Bear) with confidence, though he looked surprised to be slapped round the face by his co-star.

Geoff Durrant, as Leckie, provided a gem of a performance, wearing a genuine kilt and an Arran cardigan, he walked with a stoop and carried a worried expression through the whole performance.

The play, directed by Rick Rolph, provided a welcome change to the seriousness of No Way Out, and left our audience with a smile on their faces as they left the hall.