LAUGHTER, they say is the best tonic. If so, then tickets for North Country Theatre's latest offering ought w be available on prescription.

The Confession of Brother Wormwood, which opened in Richmond and tours the North and Midlands for the next three months, is billed as a medieval tale ol murder, miracles and dirty habits.

It's also a lesson in ingenuity and innovation with the simplest of revolving sets whisking the audience from the not so hallowed aisels of a fourteenth century abbey to the colour and excitement of the Crusades. Cue one of the evening's best giggles - a gag about the Holy Land "heathens having huge catapults which ca be ready in 45 minutes.

The title role is handled wonderfully by Adrian Metcalfe as a sort of cross between Middle Ages sleuth Brother Cadfael and something straight from the annals of Blackadder.

A simple bench and three stools are the only stage props to speak of, becoming an altar, seats, a bath and even a horse which prompted a round of applause for sheer ingenuity.

Darlington and Stockton Times