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adies and gentlemen, take your seats – all 12 of them. The Theatre of Small Convenience in Great Malvern (so called because it was once a Victorian gents’ toilet) nearly always gets a full house – one of the perks of being the world’s smallest theatre.

The auditorium (if you can call it that) is lavishly furnished with mystical landscape murals, velvet tassels and an elaborate wooden stage surround, giving it a dramatic atmosphere with a touch of homeliness.

That’s because the lucky few who make up the audience sit in an area just a little bigger than a large sitting room.

After relaxing back into your cosy armchair, the show begins. The theatre’s diminutive size hasn’t stopped it portraying some seriously larger-than-life characters over the years.

As well as puppet shows, Shakespeare and a dramatic monologue or two, the Theatre of Small Convenience has been known to host the occasional opera. Our ears are still ringing...