Local theatre group Tomahawk have every reason to be proud of their latest venture with a new production of the rarely performed Ibsen drama Little Eyolf, in a translation by Michael Mayer. The intimate space of this studio theatre lends itself to the intricacy of this great theatrical writer. The piece impacts powerfully on the audience who are sitting just feet away from the intense action.

It's 100 years since this play was written, but it seemed as fresh and relevant as if it were penned only yesterday. Nevertheless, it is redolent with influences from its era such as the development of psychoanalysis and symbolism. It is of its time and yet still speaks to us now. The hero, Alfred Allmers, has decided to give up his career as a writer to devote himself to the well-being of his disabled son. His wife Rita resents everything that takes his attention from her be it a book or, shockingly, their child. The marriage is a claustrophobic battleground watching the excellent Nina Lucy Wylde and Alex Nicholls verbally slug it out is like observing two souls in Purgatory.

Equally gripping is Felicity McCormack as Alfred's too-intimate sister, Asta. There are secrets in this marriage that are cleverly alluded to and wonderfully revealed by the fine cast. When tragedy threatens to destroy them all, Asta's suitor Borgheijm, played strongly by Alister Nunn, who has seemed an uncomplicated sort of chap, becomes the moral centre of the play. The tragic Young Eyolf is played with a maturity beyond his years by the assured Nathaniel Heather, while Polly Mountain regally takes on the symbolist weight of the play as the mysterious Rat Wife in a eerie but deadly serious portrayal.

Little Eyolf will be on until tomorrow but tickets are almost sold out. So if you don't want to miss this excellent production, you will have to move fast. It's more than worth the effort.