Arthur Miller's gloomy study of the Great Depression, The American Clock, was one of the playwright's many 'misses' that followed his string of early 'hits'. First seen in 1980, and repeatedly revised during the rest of its creator's long life, the play was never a critical or popular success. That it can nevertheless provide a gripping evening for audiences, and a series of challenging roles for its performers, was amply demonstrated last week in a well-managed production at Chipping Norton Theatre by students of the Woodstock-based Oxford School of Drama, under director George Peck.

Challenging roles, of course, are what is needed if students are to show their mettle. In this play - so many and various are the parts - the young actors were mostly playing two or even more characters, thereby adding to a confusion over who was who that rather troubled this reviewer from the start. There was no problem in this direction, however, with the central characters of Moe and Rose Baum, who were grippingly portrayed by Lydia Bewley and Mawgan Gyles (pictured). The indignities that followed their financial fall made for uncomfortable viewing, though it was fascinating to see how their son Lee (Hannah Almond), who was in some ways a representation of the young Miller, coped with the crisis.

The acting laurels of the night, for me, went to the impressively talented Remfry Dedman. He shone in two very different roles - first as a warm-hearted financier who had the foresight to see the crash coming, and later as the garrulous, mother-troubled songwriter Sidney.