I don't believe I have ever seen Tony Adams on stage before.

My only real memory of him is in the appalling soap Crossroads, in which he played motel manager Adam Chance.

That was, of course, the original series, complete with wobbling scenery and even wobblier dialogue.

But on stage, Tony Adams is a wonderfully effective actor.

In Alan Ayckbourn's 1979 hit Taking Steps, Adams plays bombastic Roland, a wealthy businessman who made his fortune in the manufacture of buckets.

We first meet him as he is about to buy the three-storey home he leases. It is a critical time in his life - does he really want to settle down where he is?

During the course of the play, his wife leaves him and returns, the landlord arrives, departs and returns again and his wife's brother and his girlfriend get up to all sorts of things.

As a result, the whole play becomes not just a play but a beautifully-timed farce as well.

Like all of Ayckbourn's works, and he must have clocked up at least 60 plays by now, the themes are people not listening to one another, not communicating and probably not even caring very much about one another.

Taking Steps takes up these themes very well.

Add to this some superbly crafted scenes involving mistaken identities, a set that becomes the three different storeys of the house and throw in a possible ghost and there is plenty to enjoy.

The set is baffling at first but, once you get used to seeing the cast climb non-existent staircases, it soon becomes clear this is a nicely-crafted piece.

Adams is joined by other talented players, notably Amanda Holden, from Brookside, as the rather sexy wife, Ian Marr as her witless and indecisive brother, whose only ambition seems to be owning a fishing-tackle shop, David Cardy as the hapless landlord and Paula Tappenden as Kitty, a rather vague young lady.

Stealing the show is Nicholas Maude, who plays a young, muddleheaded solicitor. His scenes are brilliantly played and rather touching.

But Adams, who lives in Brighton, is the star.

He is the very embodiment of the hard-drinking businessman - streetwise but also silly. I look forward to seeing him do more stage work in the future.

Evening performances start at 7.45pm and Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm.Tickets cost between £10 and £15. To book or for more information, call 01323 412000.