"Imagine a world without light," says Merlin at the start of Stuart Paterson's 1982 Christmas show and director Robert Paterson takes him at his word. For the opening sequence, you can barely make out John Buick's long-bearded wizard or Irene Macdougall's creepy Morgana so hazily are they pictured in the spooky blue light. The young audience do well not to be freaked out.
Which is just as well - because in this production it's the darker aspects that work best. There's a particularly tense chase sequence, which seems made for the Dundee Rep stage with its easy access to the auditorium, and a disturbing creature of the earth who goes into battle with Merlin equipped with a booming sub-baritone voice and a way of gaining strength from every defeat.
Likewise, the most compelling performance is that of Keith Fleming as Morgana's wicked sidekick, Face. Dressed in black with his face half in shadow, he acts with malevolent relish, scuttling about the stage like a spidery Richard III.
Deviating from standard Arthurian legend, the play is a straightforward battle between boring old good and seductive evil with a bit of sword-in-the-stone pulling to round things off. This Arthur gains his strength by journeying into the forest to make his own choices between right and wrong. In this, Ewan Donald is a loveable, uncomplicated Arthur. The script, though, is not Paterson's best. Were Arthur's mission more compelling and were he more clearly in control of his own destiny, there'd be less call for the early operetta-style songs and comic subplot. But my seven-year-old son, for the second year running, remains gripped by Arthur's dilemma and gives the show an unhesitating five stars.
· Until December 31. Box office: 01382 223 530.
