THE SEVENTEENTH VALENTINE, STUDIO THEATRE, SALISBURY

WHEN scriptwriter Russell Mardell of Lappaman, and Bootleg's director Colin Burden get together on a production, you know you are in for a treat, specialising, as they do in low-life humour with sinister undertones (Cool Blokes: Decent Suits and Back from the Cleaners, among others).

In The Seventeenth Valentine, Mardell has moved out of the world of the criminal underclass, yet the territory is somehow darker and deeper.

Wealthy, reclusive, neurotic ex-lawyer Sam Valentine-Sheldon (Nicholas Lumley), lives with his lonely, frustrated wife, Lizette (Kerry Stockwell), in rural seclusion.

His only interests are alcohol and astronomy, both of which he indulges with enthusiasm.

At the beginning of the play, Lizette is remonstrating with him. He has forgotten their anniversary. No he hasn't, he has bought her a star.

Once again, she goes to pack her bags, yet she does not leave because, inexplicably, she still loves him. Their situation changes when cheerful, mumsy Ronnie (Julia Savill), Sam's cousin, arrives with her husband Royston (David Corden).

Chatty, cheerful and outgoing, they bring news, which reveals secrets that threaten to destroy Sam's world.

And yet in this destruction, you can see the unmistakable seeds of his recovery, such as the tender moment in which he experimentally kisses his wife's cheek.

And when the curtain closes on Lizette peering into the telescope, searching for her star you feel glad for them both.

Hopefully, it will go to the West End. It deserves to.

Anne Hill