SURREAL drama The Birthday Party certainly provides food for thought.

It seemed to leave some perplexed about what they had just seen and what it was all about.

However, that seems to be playwright Harold Pinter's intention and this production's excellent performances make it interesting to watch.

The action centres around Stanley, a depressed musician who stays in a dingy seafront guesthouse. When ominous callers McCann and Goldberg arrive, they organise a disastrous birthday party for an unwilling Stanley.

Identity, reality, torture, sexuality, religion and madness are among the issues raised in the chaos that follows.

Playing Meg, the doting landlady obsessed with Stanley, Eileen Atkins is excellent, her fondness for stating the obvious makes the audience laugh.

Henry Goodman is compelling as the optimistic yet terrifying Jewish visitor Goldberg and Paul Ritter gives a fine performance playing Stanley.

Mention must also go to Finbar Lynch, who has a threatening stage presence as Irishman McCann, Sinead Matthews, who plays girl-next-door Lulu, and Geoffrey Hutchings as Meg's long suffering husband Petey.

Older audience members told me the set designers should be congratulated for their authentic reproduction of a 50s house.

Watching The Birthday Party is a strange experience that will keep you thinking for days. It runs until tomorrow (Saturday).

Jo Lafferty