THE Riverfront, Newport, brings Mike Maran's The Little World of Don Camillo to the stage tonight (Friday).

After huge successes with Captain Corelli's Mandolin, and Private Angelo, Mike Maran returns with another 'Italian' show, The Little World of Don Camillo.

Maran's adaptation of these delightful short stories was a runaway success at last year's Edinburgh Fringe where the production received huge critical acclaim and all the performances were sold out.

Set in Emilia-Romagna on the south bank of the mighty river Po in the years just after the war, the parish priest, Don Camillo, and the communist mayor, Peppone, stoop to skulduggery and worse to get one over on the other.

But their public show of hostility conceals a deeper collaboration to defend a value more important than their respective ideologies - their shared humanity.

With an original score written and performed by Colin Steele, trumpet, and Martin Green, accordion, (with a little help from Verdi), Maran sweeps you off your feet and away to the Po Valley of 50 years ago, to a world full of hope that peace will last. Adapted by Mike Maran and Philip Contini, from stories by Giovanni Guareschi, told by Mike Maran, with music performed live on stage by Colin Steele and Martin Green.

Tickets for this show are priced £12. Tickets for all events at The Riverfront are on sale from the central box office booking line on 01633 656757.