The most convincing performance in what should be a comedy of witty repartee and challenging Shavian philosophy was delivered by the actor who took his role at 48 hours’ notice when David Troughton withdrew because of illness in his family. Christopher Godwin came on with script in hand in the role of Mr Burgess, the bluff and slightly disreputable father of the eponymous Candida. But he rarely glanced at his book and had the character honed as if he had been rehearsing for weeks.

The play was apparently one of George Bernard Shaw’s favourites. It is a whimsical tale of a Left-wing, liberal-thinking clergyman, James Morrell, whose habitual calm is shaken when a young poet befriended by his wife Candida declares his love for her and suggests to Morrell that it is reciprocated. The script is full of Shaw’s philosophy on love, marriage, socialism and religion, much of it thought-provoking stuff well over a century after it was written. The set is a delight, framed by a skewed proscenium arch with no vertical lines, be they walls, bookcases or doorways, within it. My main grouse about the performance last Thursday night was pretty basic – several of the key actors could not be heard, which meant important lines were wasted and the thread of an argument lost.

This sacrificed the vital rapport between cast and audience and contributed to a lack of vitality in the overall effect.

Charity Wakefield in the title role was inaudible on a number of occasions. Frank Dillane, as the poet Marchbanks, mistook staged confidentiality for the real thing with the same result. If these actors spent most of their time in television studios, the lack of projection would be understandable, if not excusable. But that is not the case. Jamie Parker as the misused Morrell was more positive and Jo Herbert as Miss Garnett, Morrell’s devoted secretary, was audibly entertaining, as was Edwin Thomas as the curate, Lexy. Mr Godwin triumphed and if David Troughton does not return to the role, his substitute can only get better and better.

He sets a standard of conviction and verve for the rest of the cast to match. If they do during the rest of the sun – part of the theatre’s Summer Season, this is on until July 20 – it will be worth an evening of anyone’s time.