Birdsong *** TNT

Although this routine adaptation of Sebastian Faulk’s bestselling 1990 novel held my attention throughout the three hour running time, I was never completely convinced by the passionate affair framing its depiction of life in the trenches.

Projected images facilitate rapid scene changes in Trevor Nunn’s efficient production as, in 1910, Ben Barnes’ personable young Englishman Stephen falls in love with the unhappy wife of his brutal French host. War devastates the idyllic landscape of their secret riverside trysts and damages the increasingly isolated Stephen as he marshals his men at the Somme.

But it’s a superb Lee Ross who steals the acting honours with his honest portrayal of working class sapper Jack, worrying about his son dying of diphtheria back home, whilst tunnelling deep beneath no-man’s-land towards the German lines.

Comedy, Panton Street, SW1Y 4DN (0844 871 2118) Tube: Piccadilly Circus (Until 15th January) £20 - £49.50