Set in post-war France over a span of almost 20 years, Lloyd Webber's Aspects of Love charts the emotional tangle of a clutch of interlinked individuals.

Conveying the highs, lows and love triangles of two decades in less than three hours, inevitably meant the plot was regularly interspersed with moments of high passion, which verged on melodrama.

Equally, by the end of the play the love triangles are so complicated and even slightly disturbing, that the audience is left dwelling not so much on the power of love as the flippancy of human feeling.

But these was not really faults of the players, and there were moments in the second half where the pathos of the characters' situation came across well.

The musical opens with the central ballad, Love Changes Everything, a charged and passionate tune, which holds the musical together and embodies all the sub-themes.

But, the anguished Alex (Matt Rawle) filled this with so much emotion in his opening scene that some of the simple melody and beauty of the song was muted.

David Essex was this show's big name attraction, starring as George, the young hero's sophisticated uncle and he kept a strong stage presence throughout.

All the lead roles gave strong performances, particularly the women, and Rose (Shona Lindsay) delighted the audience with her bright voice, which seemed to mature with her character as the musical went on.

Aspects of Love was a really enjoyable evening out, just don't expect to take it all too seriously.

Runs until Saturday (sept 29)