Guardian Review

If Margaret Catchpole had never set eyes on smuggler Will Laud, she would have probably married a ploughman, conceived a brood of children and died in her bed on her beloved Suffolk soil. We would never have heard of her. Instead, this 18th-century wildchild refused to be tamed. She learned to read and write, became a famed horse thief and jailbreaker, was sentenced to be executed, then transported to Australia and became a legend on two continents.

Her story is told in Alistair Cording's lively theatrical romp, first produced by Eastern Angles in 2000, and now revived as part of the company's 30th anniversary celebrations. It's easy to see its appeal: it's a fast-moving story of love, intrigue and rough justice, steeped in the folk music and the smuggling connections of the local area and it boasts an intelligent, spirited heroine - played with real attack by Rosalind Steele. Even the theatre is intriguing, an old hangar buried deep on a disused cold-war airbase and the production includes a strong community cast who are there to do more than merely make up the numbers.

In theatrical terms there is nothing in Ivan Cutting's production to quite match the stunning final image as lonely and grief stricken Margaret walks determinedly towards her new life in Australia. But although the script sometimes creaks a little, like Margaret herself the whole show has an intelligence, openness and a big-hearted appeal.

At its best it points up the injustices of so-called justice, paints a vivid portrait of the relationship between Margaret and her well-meaning employer, Elizabeth Cobbold (Becky Pennick), and explores the misguided paternalism of the local doctor (Peter Sowerbutts) whose admiration for Margaret doesn't stop him meddling in her affairs of the heart. A pleasure.

Lyn Gardner