WATCHING a play in the back of an old post office sorting van is an interesting way to spend a Wednesday afternoon.

And The Last Post, by Bath-based Kilter Theatre, was absolutely brilliant – a quirky, nostalgic look at the art of letter writing.

It followed the blossoming relationship between Verity, who works inside Mobile Sorting Office 451 and is the heiress of an international penpal agency, and Red, a redundant postmaster.

Verity (Caroline Garland) and Red (Oliver Langdon) journey around the country delivering mail and connecting people, together with Tomas (Tom Ball), who is responsible for much of the backing music and showering the audience with letters.

The story was accompanied by live music with a retro feel, which perfectly complemented the brilliant acting from the cast, who created believable and likeable characters.

The van can only seat up to 17 people, so the performance was an intimate affair, allowing the audience to get really caught up in the action.

The set was fantastic – crammed with real mail and so many interesting trinkets to look at. It’s amazing how they fitted it all in there and worked so well in the limited space.

As the story reached its heartwarming conclusion, I’m sure I wasn’t the only one in the audience welling up.

* The Last Post was part of Theatre Fest West, Salisbury Playhouse

HANNAH WHITE