Porridge; Swansea Grand Theatre

SHADES of the prison house, to paraphrase William Wordsworth, begin to close around the portly frame of Norman Stanley Fletcher in this lovingly crafted stage version of the classic BBC comedy series about the inmates of Slade Prison.

Pivotal to the success of the play is Shaun Williamson's superb performance as Fletcher: rather than opt for a slavish imitation of Ronnie Barker, he has made the character his own and — because theatre is such a different medium to TV — his portrayal is larger than life, as indeed are the rest of the performances in this immensely enjoyable and absorbing play.

Daniel West, as young Lennie Godber, captures the vulnerability of the late lamented Richard Beckinsale quite brilliantly, while Nicholas Lumley and John Conroy hit the proverbial bullseye with their fabulous portrayals of Officers Mackay and Barrowclough.

Anyone looking for an escape from the grim times in which we live would be well advised to savour a helping of Porridge before it reaches the end of its run on Saturday: this is an object lesson in how to transfer a TV show to the stage, and although the original series might be consigned to TV Heaven, this production proves that there is plenty of life in the old lag yet.

Graham Williams