How different can Spanish theatre be, I thought as we set out for this, part of the Spanish Golden Age season playing at the Theatre Royal’s smaller sister until December.

How naive of me, for it turns out that just as world music takes the notes and instruments you are familiar with and creates something you’ve never heard before, so this magnificent production gives you a completely different view of drama.

I was glad to have my theatre-loving daughter with me, as she turned out to know all about the Comedia theatre style 16th century playwright Lope de Vega, as famous in his own canon as Shakespeare, wrote in for this dark and rich story of love, lust, and above all honour.

After a dissolute and long life, the Duke decides he must marry a respectable woman, and sends his bastard son and heir Federico to escort her to him. Unsurprisingly, they fall in love, and succumb to temptation when the Duke later has to nip off to battle, leaving them in charge of his city. So far, so straightforward; but then the Spanish concept of honour kicks in, mixed with the strict character roles enforced on the play by Comedia.

The amount of concentration needed to follow something so unusual is leavened by its ease on the eye – magnificent costumes, but no sets, as per Comedia’s rules – and by the splendid cast.

Simon Scardifield, as Batin the servant, was outstanding, as was William Hoyland as the Duke, who managed to give what I felt was a real insight into a foreigner’s motivation and emotional reactions.

Nick Barber, as Federico, made his character’s turmoil appear very genuine and I also found Katie Lightfoot, as his spurned lover Aurora, completely convincing.

This is a new translation and my Spanish-speaking companion was full of admiration, explaining that the rhythms of the lines ‘still sounded Spanish’, and admiring the way rhyme had been skilfully used to add humour.

Do take the chance to see this or one of the other two plays and really try something different.