IT was quite a sight to see Captain Picard removed from the bridge of the Enterprise and plonked onto the stage at Malvern Theatres.

Patrick Stewart has to a certain extent been ingrained onto the memory as the starship captain, but his acting prowess shone through his celebrity status and he established himself as Master Builder Halvard Solness rather well.

Tortured by fears of youthful usurping, Stewart's Solness veered between authoritative builder and anxious, fragile man unmasked by the arrival of the beautiful, if slightly barmy, Hilde (Lisa Dillon).

The problem I had with the complex characters - they all seemed a little, well, bonkers. The temptation to shout out, "Oh, pull yourself together!" was hard to resist at times, perhaps a sign that the play has not aged well since its late 19th Century setting. Human reaction to the emotions and situations portrayed is now quite different.

Nevertheless, no blame can be laid at the feet of the cast and crew. The beautiful sets were coldly lit, a great reflection of the Solness' stale marriage. Stewart was as good as he always is and Dillon exuded both the exuberance of early adulthood and a little youthful naivety. Sue Johnston as Aline Solness didn't seem to have a great deal to do other than look worried and/or terrified, but still made a good job of the part.

This was a slick, well put together production, but is a play that I fear may not grab the public's imagination when it hits the West End.

PHILL TROMANS