Review: The Count of Monte Cristo ****

For the creative team this show has been a long time coming. At opening night, with a palpable buzz in the Playhouse, it felt that way for the audience, too.

Director Alan Lane and writer Joel Horwood have spent four years adapting Alexandre Dumas's sprawling tale for the stage. They have created a piece of theatre that endeavours to tell the story of The Count of Monte Cristo, all the while acknowledging that it will fail, but asking the audience to come along for the ride anyway.

In what should be a career-making performance, Daniel Rigby plays Edmond Dants, the sailor who is betrayed, sent to prison, escapes after 14 long years and exacts his terrible revenge on those who betrayed him.

Rigby opens the evening by standing on stage with the book. He tells us it's a long and "weird" book – and

then jumps straight into character with five other actors in support.

The evening ends with Rigby still in character as Dants. Had it been book-ended with him returning to the novel, it would have brought a more satisfying conclusion. It would have acknowledged the journey we had gone on together as audience and actors.

And that's the one failing of this production. Just as you're prepared to be be taken on the ultimate flight of fancy, it pulls back and delivers instead something far more conventional.

In straight storytelling mode it's still impressive thanks to a series of brilliant performances, not only from Rigby, but also Duncan Wiseby. His comic timing as Bertuccio is worth the admission alone.

However, it's when the director and cast let rip with their imaginations and indulge their sense of play, that the Count of Monte Cristo really comes alive.

Dants shooting a card, turning the Ace into a five, is beautifully done and the production could have done with more moments like this.

You'll travel far to find a harder working piece of theatre, but with just a little more sense of playfulness, it would have been absolutely perfect.

To May 15.