I was happy and fortunate to be able to draw upon my experience as a theatre critic for one of my most recent assignments, in Belfast's American Bar.

When you're in the theatre business, and you want to sell your play, I think you've got to get right to the heart of the action. My own experience has taught me that audiences respond best when they thoroughly believe in who is on the stage, what is going on in front of them, or both.

That was certainly the case with Pintsized Productions' adaptation of A Cock & Bull Story, directed by Terry Keeley and produced by Gerard McCabe. Pintsized are compact in budget but large in heart - they're all about bringing emerging professionals together with established artists to create engaging experiences. The venue is nothing like you'd expect. The performances are usually impressive, if not revelatory.

And the passion roared from the souls of actors Daniel Kelly and Conor Doran in an hour's worth of driven, complex, physical and psychological intensity which fascinated and entertained everyone on a cold winter's night in The American Bar. Producer McCabe, a long-time friend and very good dramatic & comic actor in his own right (you can see him now alongside Jo Donnelly in Conor Grimes and Alan McKee's What The Reindeer Saw at the Lyric Theatre in Belfast), assigned me with the task of bringing the play to life. I've been told I did a very good job indeed - I hope you think so too. Enjoy the photos... and have a very Merry Christmas!