Through excellent direction from Matthew Dunster and splendid design from Anna Fleischle, Maugham’s work is showcased beautifully; with small moments of comedy giving light relief to the otherwise dramatic and quite often poignant dialogue... Excellent performances are given from all the cast... stunning.

The theatre was packed. Guildford audiences know a good thing when they see it.

This is a play of twists and turns, with the truth slowly unravelling. Our perceptions are gradually overturned and we see that at the centre of this sad tale are different elements of pure love. 

This was a brilliantly acted and directed piece that took us into the constraints of the subject and the time it was set, evoking the period beautifully with good use of dialogue and costumes... A brilliant example of the well made play, it was good to see such an intelligent production.

A detailed and truthful exploration of relationships – maternal and matrimonial, sexual and sublimated, caring and careless – which is just as valid for 2012 as for 1928.

A fascinating character study which Maugham has written with great skill and is played with great vitality by the cast who keep things moving at an incredible speed... English Touring Theatre has indeed brought new life to a classic... an engaging lesson in relationships and the true importance of love in all its forms.

A well-crafted piece: intelligent, funny and engaging... the performances throughout are superb.

English Touring Theatre is defined by the quality of the plays it produces with class and enigmatic humour. The Sacred Flame is no exception, with smart direction, a gorgeous set and a cast of class, of posture and deliberate articulation. This play by the late Somerset Maugham is done marvellous justice.

Matthew Dunster's English Touring Theatre revival of this 1929 West End hit is first-rate ... It is difficult to imagine the play being better done.

 genuinely apt and eloquent

Dunster’s bold decision to revive The Sacred Flame has paid off. Maugham’s play is packed with heady emotional impact and incisive empathy which leaves our loyalties and ethics torn.

 Strikes a real chord... a play whose time has come again and which anyway exerts a fascination in its own right.

Jamie De Courcey is winningly charismatic and heart-breakingly broken as Maurice Tabret and Margot Leicester philosophical and funny as his observant and clever mother.