Unless it's part of an exam syllabus War and Peace is one of those novels we say we'll get around to reading one day.
Leo Tolstoy's masterpiece covers in considerable detail the political and social upheaval in Russian - and most of Europe - between 1801 and 1815.
Helen Edmundson's adaptation manages to pack it into under six hours, split into two parts. There was a choice of seeing both parts on the same day, with an hour and half break between the two, or see the parts on sequential evenings.
Either way it is a theatrical marathon, but worth the effort.
For the scope of the epic the cast of 15 is relatively small and most played several roles, which occasionally caused confusion.
The tale is told through the experience of several key families and principally through Pierre Besuhov (Bernard Kay), a young man, at first inspired by Napoleon's vision of unifying nations, and later disillusioned by brutality, deceit and bloodshed.
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Directors Nancy Meckler and Polly Teale use a number of ingenious devices in the minimalist set: gilt picture frames become doorways, windows, mirrors and transparent walls and a grand piano becomes a stage.
The sound effects during the battle scenes were stunning and the lighting subtle and clever.
Outstanding in a hardworking cast were Bernard Kay (Pierre), Jonathan Woolf as Nikolai, Louise Ford as Natasha, David Sturzaker as Andrei, Katie Wimpenny as Maria and Jeffery Kissoon as Prince Bolkonsky.
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