A CLASSIC comedy to warm the heart on a cold winter s night is how the Company of Ten is billing its next production Hobson s Choice. Written by Harold Brighouse and set in 1880s Manchester, it focuses on Henry Horatio Hobson who owns a successful boot sh

A CLASSIC comedy to warm the heart on a cold winter's night is how the Company of Ten is billing its next production Hobson's Choice.

Written by Harold Brighouse and set in 1880s Manchester, it focuses on Henry Horatio Hobson who owns a successful boot shop.

He spends his time drinking with friends while his daughter Maggie takes on the responsibility for keeping the business going. She is looking for a husband and her heart is set on her father's shy bootmaker Willie Mossop who is less keen on the match.

In the meantime Maggie's two sisters also have their suitors and the young people do their best to outwit Hobson and escape his controlling influence.

Although it has been around for nearly a century, the themes of Hobson's Choice are as relevant today as when it was written - the effect of class snobbery, alcohol abuse, the benefits of education and hard work as a route out of poverty.

Hobson's Choice runs from next Friday, February 26, to March 6 at the Abbey Theatre in St Albans.

Tickets are priced between �7 and �10 with concessions available and can be obtained from the box office on 01727 857861 or online at www.abbeytheatre.org.uk