CHAIRMAN Maurice Crichton is taking a phlegmatic approach to directing a Yorkshire Shakespeare Project production for the first time.

"If you don't enjoy it, we're not doing it right," he says, as the countdown continues to YSP's All's Well That Ends Well at Friargate Theatre, Lower Friargate, York, from November 27 to November 30.

"All’s Well That Ends Well is a too-little-seen romantic comedy written by Shakespeare at his peak. Full of great scenes and strong women, it mostly takes place in France, a country and culture we have been celebrating in York throughout 2014. Following YSP’s sell-out success with Twelfth Night at York Theatre Royal Studio in April, and with a completely new cast of characters and performers, those celebrations continue with this Frenched-up show: the 26th Shakespeare play we have tackled."

Let Maurice draw you into Shakespeare's tale.

"It does not begin at all well," he says. "Helen lives in the household of an attractive young Count who she loves but he is completely out of her league. What’s worse, he is about to leave home for Paris, the Court, and every sort of temptation. She should forget him and move on, but Helen has her very own fairy godmother in the form of a magic remedy left to her by her father."

Who is this attractive young Count? "Bertram, the young Count of Roussillon, who has had a difficult time," says Maurice. "His father has died despite the best attentions of his private physician. He has been stuck at home with his widowed mother for the last year but now has the chance to go to Paris to learn how to be a courtier.

"For better or for worse, he is relying on his unsuitable friend Parolles to show him what to do. This will include help and advice on his love life: women are a complete mystery to Bertram. Perhaps with the blessing of the King he can join the army and embark on a more exciting phase of his life."

How is the King of France? "He is not well at all. He is a very sick man," says Maurice in his latest condition check. "He has tried all sorts of cures and is no better . Convinced he is terminally ill, all he has to look forward to is the arrival of Bertram, the only surviving son of his best friend."

To find out if all's well that ends well, in the company of Molly Kay's Helen, Sam Hill's Bertram, Jamie Smelt's Parolles and Paul French's King of France, you can book tickets for the 7.30pm evening shows and 2pm Saturday and Sunday matinees on 01904 613000 or at ridinglights.org/friargate/