THIS gentle and hugely enjoyable tale of North Yorkshire vet James Herriot takes you right back to Sunday evenings in the Seventies, ensconced by the telly and feeling warm and cosy.

If it’s deep drama or outrageous comedy you are after, forget it. But if you want a cracking evening of gentle humour and a lovely story while being transported back to the Forties, then don’t miss this.

Simon Stallworthy has adapted the novels on which the television series was based and had covered a lot of ground; from the time James Herriot (Ben Ingles) joins Siegfried’s (Henry Everett) veterinary practice in the Dales, to him being accepted by the gruff and conservative farming community through to courting the lovely Helen (Samantha Phyllis Morris).

Stallworthy’s own direction cracks along and the delightful set immediately draws us into that long-gone world of innocence and bucolic altruism, a world that seems so far removed from today’s factory farming.

The thing that elevates this piece from a nostalgic flashback is the acting; it’s superb. Ingles is brilliant, as is Everett, Morris and Jack Wharrier as Siegried’s waster brother, Tristan.

All four principal actors well deserved their enthusiastic final applause, but it would be remiss not to give high praise to Stephanie Fayerman, Rachel Gay, Mark Stratton and Scott Frazer, who between them play about 20 individualistic support characters.

Millions of people watched All Creatures Great and Small on television and on the silver screen (starring Simon Ward and then John Alderton), so there’s every reason to believe this lovely piece of theatre can be as successful.

■ Runs until Saturday, October 16. Tickets: £15 (£13 concessions), Pay What You Like Monday, October 4.

Box Office: 0191-332-4041 galadurham.co.uk Ed Waugh