And she was right. We could have been sitting in a vineyard in Verona flicking olives at each other while drinking red wine such was the atmosphere on Thursday in the beautiful woodland setting.

Stamford Shakespeare Company's portrayal of the Bard's love story Romeo and Juliet was outstanding.

Romeo (Harry Owens) and Juliet (Frances Denney) fall in love, even though their families – the Montagues and Capulets – don't get on.

An elaborate plan to get married goes wrong with Romeo killing Juliet's unwanted intended Paris (Craig Woodman) in one of several polished sword fights before finding Juliet's "corpse" in the crypt.

Those who have never been to Tolethorpe will probably spend a lot of time marvelling at how clever the set is and if I was being clever I would compare the darkening sky with the plummet into despair of the young lovers' lives.

A few other observations:

Romeo's friend Mercutio, played by Jasper Cook, was a wonderfully quirky counterpart to Gary Jones' menacing Tybalt.

The Nurse, played by Elaine Johnson, had a Dawn French-esque sweetness to her tone and was enjoyed by the audience.

I liked the way Escalus, Prince of Verona (Richard Abel) roared out of the back of the audience to intervene in the battle scenes, although his gold and cream outfit did make me chortle – not exactly intimidating.

The final scene in the crypt, complete with organ music and monks, was truly spine chilling.

Bring a blanket because you will be cold before the tentacles of mist grasp towards you.

Stamford Shakespeare Company's sales have already increased to more than a 1,000 a week and now look likely to break further records as The Times recently voted it into the Top 50 attractions to visit in Britain.

A fitting reward for an excellent show directed by Steve Whittaker. It's good to see the Bard's work can still bring in the crowds.

For more details of shows go online to www.stamfordshakespeare.co.uk or call 01780 756133.