The good news is that Hotbuckle Theatre Company is back on the road, and the even better news is that The Return of the Native is their most powerful production seen by me so far. An out-and-out tragedy is a most interesting choice, but fear not, even this tale of woes is riddled with adapter and director Adrian Preater's highly inventive playfulness.

Written in the 1870's, Thomas Hardy's not-quite-so-well-known Wessex novel deals with the loves, losses and betrayals of a handful of folk living on a desolate heathland in Dorset. The very remoteness of the place means there is limited choice when it comes to falling in love. Conflicting affections are inevitable; and it's the jealousies, greed and raw passions that drive all concerned to the brink.

The stage is set with a collection of wooden stools of differing height which, in true Hotbuckle fashion, become everything from a flaming bonfire, a thicket, a country style and a crumbling riverbank. All four cast members provide the music; banjo, brass section and washboard. But actually, it is the sheer quality of the acting that is utterly hypnotising. It's a bit like having the Royal Shakespeare Company pitch up at your local village hall.

Adrian Preater himself must have sorely missed the roar of the crowd for he is back on stage in the roles of the virtuous, selfless Reddleman (in his red dye-splattered jacket) and Christian, the simple, chaotic, clown; among several others. Mr Preater never misses a trick when it comes to comic gesture and tom-foolery, but in this story his ability to play sorrowful fortitude is also given full scope.

The other bedrock of Hotbuckle these days is Joanna Purslow who majors as the troubled Mrs Yeobright who is at the mercy of the wavering hearts of the next generation. Pain - physical and emotional - is etched on the actor's face as she believes herself to be abandoned by her son. Jo's portrayal of her character's sad decline and death is the compassionate core of the play. It requires an actor of great experience and sensitivity to pull it off.

It's very good to see Beth Organ back in the fold again. You have to be versatile to work for Hotbuckle and, by simply un-velcro-ing one colour skirt for another (and simultaneously rebooting her mindset!) she oscillates wonderfully between both star-crossed young women; the innocent Thomasin and the proud, bewitching Eustacia. The love interest in both cases is excellently portrayed by the modern day 'matinee idol' that is William Witt, as the untrustworthy, lady-killing Damon Wildeve and the professional Clym; the native returning to the heath.

William is new to the company and has slipped into it's distinct style like putting on a favourite overcoat. It's a particularly impressive debut. The brooding power he and Beth build between them in one pairing, and the cooler resigned relationship in the other, transfixed the audience at Aberdovey.

Then there are the much anticipated, trademark set-pieces. The Mummers' Play is colourfully done with plenty of rustic humour. Adrian Preater creates a deep, echoing well on stage with no electronic jiggery pokery at all. The gambling game that is Christian's downfall simply comprises gesture and on-stage sound effects. The frying of the deadly adder is incredibly ingenious; economically re-using a highly unlikely prop from a previous scene. And the fearsome, fateful whirlpool is a single, swirling grey blanket. Hotbuckle create stage-craft solutions that are so cleverly obvious, no one could possible have thought of them before.

But for all the fun and games, Hardy's dour morality faithfully underpins this pocket production of his stage-shy story. I'm sure he'd approve. His original 19th century manuscript was serialised and the producers of Yorkshire's Emmerdale could take inspiration from the spectacle before me last night. 

Four stars

Reviewed by Chris Eldon Lee. Hotbuckle bring The Return of the Native to Shrewsbury's Theatre Severn on Thursday 7 & Friday 8 May.