BERTHOLD Brecht in Oswaldtwistle, whatever next!

Oswaldtwistle Players have never been afraid of taking up a challenge and their decision to stage this satire about the rise of extremism has to represent one of their biggest yet.

And to their credit, on the whole, they have pulled it off.

Arturo Ui is a two-bit gangster who through intimidation, oratory and the self-interest of others rises to power in Chicago before moving on to other cities around the US.

The parallels with the rise of Hitler are obvious and deliberate. The manner of Ui’s ascendency mirrors that of the Nazis, with newspaper headlines flashing up on a large sceen to reinforce the message.

Director Chris Knight should be applauded for mashalling such a large cast and introducing some excellent theatrical moments.

Holding the piece together was Paul McGowan as Ui.

His accent was rock solid throughout, his transformation into a dead ringer for the Austrian house painter was quite startling and he carried off the major speeches with aplomb.

He received good support from his various hencemen - Anthony Flanagan as Roma, Paul Terry as Giri and Paul Batt as Givola.

For the nervous, be warned. Loud gunshots are a staple diet of this production and you will jump out of your seat at least three times One or two of the accents wandered many miles from Chicago and the play suffers from being a naturally slow starter.

It’s not an easy play for the audience.

But the climax was genuinely powerful.

It was a brave decision to take this play on and one which Oswaldtwistle Players should look back on with some pride.

The show runs until Saturday. Details from the box office on 01254 380293.