THESE three bite-sized plays not only provided a welcome alternative to the sporting event currently gripping the country but proved, if proof were needed, that the members of P&P are one extremely talented group.

First off was Les Clarke’s Watching The Magpies, a disturbing drama about two elderly ladies, one with onset Alzheimer’s, and their battle to stay in their home after the council has sold it for redevelopment. Tommy Egerton was heartbreaking as the vague, clearly unwell Dottie and Jane Adams gave a moving portrayal as her friend, Rose, with Simon Hindess suitably uncaring as council employee Mr Deacon.

This was followed by the highly amusing Between Mouthfuls, by Alan Ayckbourn, in which a bemused waiter attempts to serve two couples as they argue amongst themselves, and was well characterised by its cast of Paul Root, Patrick D’Ardenne, Anne Paget, Mark Everitt and Ellie Cowley.

Jean McConnell’s Deckchairs is actually two playlets – Early Blight, an exploration of a mother/daughter relationship, and Dancers, which shows the world of tea dances through the eyes of two middle-aged women. Both were superbly performed by their casts – Veronica Ryder and Jean Dishington in the first, Jane Adams and Janice Hindess in the second.