POPCORN is one of those plays that you enjoy at the time but gets you thinking for days afterwards.

Penned by leftie comedian Ben Elton, you more or less know what you are going to get.

Cutting social commentary, politically correct gags and a hearty dollop of wit.

And yes, the Dead Ernest Theatre Company's production does deliver all these things. But it also comes with a few surprises.

What we will euphemistically call 'scenes of an adult nature' had one woman storming out in disgust while most of the male audience could not have been dragged away by wild horses.

A Stroud stage can rarely have been treated to a more erotic moment than the by-now notorious tights-removing scene.

The theatre company has a habit of taking a cast of mixed experience and staging a polished, professional piece that looks more West End than am dram.

All the lead roles were well-acted and effective.

Adam Horovitz's uber-cool film director was a treat to watch as we saw his bombastic, pompous excuses for his 'art' crumble under the fire of psycho Wayne Hudson's (a convincing Gary Gallagher) crazed-yet-cutting rhetoric.

Tracey Hatherall's sweet psychopath Scout made a great foil to Gallagher's Hudson and it was hard not to be won over by the mass-murdering lovers.

And Zenia Bond as starlet Brooke Daniels proved she was far more than a pretty face, projecting palpable panic as an evening of celebration descended into chaos and carnage. Acting aside, it is a strange play.

Popcorn is sexy and violent entertainment about the way we are fed sex and violence as entertainment by the media and movie industry.

Also touching on other social ills such as our compensation culture and idolatry of celebrity, it certainly left the audience with plenty to think about.

The production itself managed to keep all the cool of early Ernest outings such as the ever-popular Bouncers but the sound and lighting show the benefits of a few years' experience and perhaps a couple more pounds to play around with.

Those who have seen the company's past plays will not be disappointed if it ever decides to reprise this slick little gem.

Those who have not should really get their act together and catch the next show.