As the audience filters into Brewery Arts Centre's theatre, The Woman (Rokhsaneh Ghawam-Shahidi) stands stage-left in a white wedding dress, articulating sounds of astonishment, excitement and pleasure. As the auditorium lights eventually go down, her dress is slowly raised and Kevin Dyer (The Man - but also Director) emerges from underneath her armed with a flashlight. This witty conceit lays the foundations for what becomes a powerful exploration of the intimacies of love and sex.

There's been plenty of talk about this new term 'live literature', in particular its uncomfortably close relationship with theatre; so it's reassuring to discover that despite the dramatic staging of this show, the driving force behind Till Death Do Us Part is the superb poetry of Neil Rollinson. What's more, Rollinson can really act - something you couldn't guarantee with any Tom, Dick or Seamus.

Some poets would be anxious about losing the authorial control of the conventional reading for the more open, fluid field of the stage. But equally, might we lose something of its unique power to communicate if poetry - excepting that designed specifically for the stage - becomes merely a text for someone else to follow? This production is alive to that question of personality, as Rollinson's character 'The Poet' weaves in and out of poetry, recorded poetry, verse dialogue and prose dialogue. At one point, he even addresses the audience as if it were a conventional reading - man, mic and shuffling paper.

He and Ghawam-Shahidi share an intense, chaotic affair that is somewhere in between Soap Opera, love poetry and a very English romantic comedy. I was particularly impressed by their use of the stage, which is dominated by an unmade bed worthy of Tracy Emin. Ghawam-Shahidi is impressive throughout, whether playing the confident, sarcastic lover or the nervous child.

I discovered after the performance that this production - commissioned by Brewery Arts Centre, Kendal - is not intended for national touring. A great pity, as I can think of a lot of people who'd enjoy Till Death Do Us Part. I hope they change their minds and get on the road. But even if they don't, this 'live literature' production has certainly pointed us in the right direction.

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