MARROW growing does not get tougher than this. Salt of the earth allotment grower Ed sharpens his trowel to enter the annual Marrowthon competition, in an attempt to beat arch rival, Miles, a smug, so-called radio gardening "expert"

To The Marrow is sheer delight from start to finish, and you don't have to be a gardener to enjoy this ultimately thought provoking play.

Director David Haworth ensures Sean Aita's tightly-written script avoids cliché, managing the seemingly impossible task of fusing comedic moments with the underlying themes of relationships, fertility and marriage, littered with botanical metaphors such as breeding hybrids and cross fertilisation.

As Ed (Clive Holland) waxes lyrical on the merits of assisted' pollination, actors Chris Talman and Michele O'Brien, dressed as sunflowers, show how nature achieves this miracle - it is possibly one of the funniest scenes I have ever seen on stage. Until, that is, the nightly battle of the slugs to Wagner's rousing Ride of the Valkyries, a tough contender.

Clive Holland is perfect as the cynically-minded traditional vegetable grower, Ed, a foil to the arrogance of Chris Talman's "cutting edge"

horticultural tipster, Miles. That the pair are brothers-in-law just adds to the fun, with the quite amazing Michele O'Brien as both their wives, albeit twin sisters.

But under all the comic bluster lies vulnerability, and as the marrow growing competition hots up, relationships start to suffer as Miles' wife Jean discovers she has fertility problems.

Gardening a battlefield? No, says Ed, nature always has the last laugh.

To The Marrow is little gem of a play, and continues its tour of village halls and community centres in Hampshire, Dorset and South Wiltshire and will be performed at Bramshaw village hall on Saturday, and Ibsley village hall next Thursday, March 6. A full touring schedule is available from Forest Forge's website (www.forestforge.co.uk).

Anne Morris