During its eighteen year run on the cosy Sunday evening slot, the ITV series Heartbeat clocked up 372 episodes of low octane action. I myself witnessed a few of the early episodes as it was on in the house back then and most of what I remember was the drama was pleasant and the crime as mostly low key. This show was all about soft gentle character driven entertainment. Transferring it to the stage, like any television series with such an obviously huge fan base, has its dangers. However writer and one of only two original series actors in the play, David Lonsdale has for the best part successfully recreated the series on the stage. It is clear at times that it feels more written for the television medium than a live theatre performance, however this fits with the material better than trying to resurrect it as something it clearly is not. This is a theatre experience for that television audience of old to enjoy. Changing it would likely alienate them. Lonsdale has also been surprising...