THEATRE lovers took a trip on a horse and cart to a simpler time and a land far removed from World Cup worry with a memorable musical.

Cherokee Indian Territory at the turn of the century, courtesy of Spalding's South Holland Centre, was the setting for a lively adaptation of Rodgers and Hammerstein's Oklahoma! by Spalding Amateur Dramatic & Operatic Society (SADOS) in its 140th year.

With rousing sing-alongs and simple concerns of the heart torn in two directions, the expansive atmosphere of Oklahoma! was the perfect antidote to the pressured mood of a World Cup summer with England very much expecting.

The first flourish of the orchestra, which capably mirrored the mood throughout the performance, transported the sold-out theatre back to the simple vistas of plains and farmsteads and the central characters made their claim on the audiences attention.

Beverley Moore as Aunt Eller radiated a homespun command, keeping the younger characters in check and pointing out what Laurey Williams (Trish Burgess) and Curly McLain (Craig Delaney) are too proud to see - they are smitten with each other.

Trish and Craig kept the show on the road, the horse and cart (sorry, "surrey") on the chaste, yet cockeyed romance at the centre of the show.  Both had strong and pure voices and were a likeable backbone to the play, with Craig making for a particularly clean cut cowboy - less Brokeback Mountain, more The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill, But Came Down a Mountain.

Providing the underbelly to Laurey and Curly's love affair was the brooding figure of Jud Fry, gruffly played by the oak voiced Norman Parish, desparate to graduate from the library of pin-ups decorating his walls to muscle in on Laurey.

Two of the most enjoyable characters came in the form of Ali Hakim and Ado Annie Carnes, the antiheroes of the show, with Ali desparately trying to brush off Annie's attentions.

Brett Moore as Persian peddler Ali was deliciously ratlike, always on the wrong end of the wrong woman's affections, smarming his way through to an unfortunate match at the climax of the show.

Sharon Sutton as Ado Annie, the girl who just can't say no, was one of the most enthralling characters, with strong singing and a wonderful southern drawl, torn between exotic Ali and the hapless but well meaning Will Parker, who was played by the boyishly happy-go-lucky James Trundle.

Deep South accents were gamely used throughout the show, with characters only occasionally forgetting where in the New World they were, crossbreading with a slightly confusing Botany Bay twang.

Nevertheless, the light touch and brisk pace of the production, shown by the sparing scene changes and simple backdrops, lent themselves to good entertainment on a summer night and praise is due to director Alasdair Baker and his productiobn team for keeping things buoyant.

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