YOU couldn't come much nearer to the complete theatre experience than an evening with the Hijinx Theatre Company and their production of Ill Met by Moonlight.

There's no scenery as such, very few props and just four actors, who double as the band. But this seasoned group of performers have carved a career out of taking theatre to the people, in village halls, community theatres and schools, so just give them the space and they'll whisk you away.

Ill Met by Moonlight was written specially for the company in 1994, by Charles Way, and it is a cleverly crafted spin-off of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream, mixing magic, love and comedy.

The action centres around a descendant of Puck, Shakespeare's mischievous fairy, who in true fashion, brings mayhem and magic to the lives of mere mortals as he roams the Welsh/English border at the turn of the century, accompanied by his captive changeling - a poor soul, once a young girl, now neither human or fairy.

After making a bet for freedom with her master that she can make a lonely widow fall in love with the arrogant bachelor neighbour she dislikes, the road is clear for all sorts of comical meddling in the hapless couples' lives.

Director Kevin Lewis cites as a seminal experience the visit of a travelling theatre company to his home town when he was a youngster, and the transformation they wrought using a small space, a simple stage, and their own play accompanied by music.

This ethos is now deeply embedded in the Hijinx Theatre Company, an immensely talented touring outfit, who have garnered rave reviews up and down the country. This particular play promises to combine hilarity, magic and not a little poignancy, with its portrait of a ancient countryside rapidly disappearing.

Ill Met by Moonlight visits Theatr Brycheiniog on Thursday October 11. The show starts at 7.30 and tickets are £7.50/6.50.

On Friday, November 23, it plays at the Blackwood Miners' Institute. The show starts at 7.30pm, and tickets are £7/£6.

Box office Brecon: 01874 611622; Blackwood Miners' Institute: 01495 227206.