For any who have seen the film version, the Clare Actors have gone one better with their production of Amadeus. It may not be as boisterous as on the big screen, but this play realises the psychological drama far more intensely and intimately than any projector could manage.

The play is given a lively opening by the two Venticellos, a delightful pair who complemented one another with tight coordination. James Morris as Salieri was sublime, portraying a man whose spirit is crushed by a sense of inadequacy and an invidious hatred for the bright yet excruciatingly irritating young prodigy. He loomed over the whole play, always on stage and always involved. Sam Curry brought out the crazed character of Mozart superbly, effortlessly flitting between puerility, despair and insanity. He deserves great credit for managing to play a believable madman, conveying the frailties in Mozart’s character while resisting the temptation to be too outlandish with his eccentricities. Meanwhile, the playful yet sincerely devoted Constanze is played by Juliet Griffin with great vivacity, although the variations in her accent were a little distracting at times and need to be more sharply marked if the changes in register are intentional.

The supporting cast did just that - ably but not outstandingly framing the roles played by the main characters. Thomas Wills could have made more of the Emperor’s lack of musical understanding, whilst Fred Maynard ought to restrain his facial expressions if he wants to avoid charges of overacting. Nevertheless, the acting was of a generally good standard, and though the few sentences spoken in French or Italian drew the odd snigger from the MML student beside me, the accents sounded authentic enough to the untrained ear.

The director made excellent use of the space offered by the Newnham Old Labs. Salieri could roam about and drop in and out of the action, and the lack of a raised stage and the actors’ proximity to the audience gave an added poignancy to the action. Music is key to the plot but also to the mood of the play and was largely well-controlled, although the speakers were unable to cope with the volume at one point. The costumes did the job in setting the period, as did the make-up, and the cast looked relaxed enough in their unfamiliar attire; the fake shoe-buckles did, however, look a little tacky.

I could not bring myself to give five stars to a play with three uncomfortable pauses at the start of the second half as the audience waited for three successive late entrances. First-night hitches aside, however, the commanding performances of the lead actors gave this play great power and intensity; convincingly getting inside the minds of a genius and a genius bettered.