Deborah Bruce's The Distance lived up to all expectations, although it was not headline star Helen Baxendale who stole the show.

Baxendale plays Bea, who has decided to leave her children in Australia with their father and return home to England.

But it is Clare Lawrence-Moody's portrayal of her friend Kate which really caught my eye at the Orange Tree Theatre.

The former Friends actress actually has very little to say early on in the play - mostly because Kate and another friend Alex will not let her character get a word in.

As the play progresses, and with the introduction of Alex's teenage son Liam (Bill Milner), Bea comes out of her shell and reveals more to her personality.

For her oldest friends cannot accept her decision to "abandon" her two young sons, despite her desperation for them to let her make the choice for herself.

It is a play steeped in humour with serious, heartbreaking undertones which many mothers will undoubtedly recollect and relate to.

Lawrence-Moody plays Kate as bossy, full-on but always kind-hearted - she is a strong character but believable all the same.

With the introduction of Vinnie (Oliver Ryan), it becomes clear that his brother, and Kate's partner, Dewi (Daniel Hawksford) has some skeletons in his closet.

The Distance closely examines hypocrisies and the notion of glass houses and Baxendale holds the plot together with aplomb.

But it is about more than Bea's relationship with Simon (Timothy Keightley) and her two children - the hilarious Alex and her son Liam also come under the spotlight.

Fair play to Milner, who plays the teenager convincingly and proves to be the highlight of the second-half with his deadpan delivery and interactions with Baxendale.

Writer Bruce and director Charlotte Gwinner set out to examine the relationships between three 40-something women and it provides intriguing results.

Having not seen the Orange Tree's new artistic director Paul Miller make his debut with the Widowing of Mrs Holroyd, it is hard to judge his start at the theatre.

But with The Distance, it seems to me that the future of the Orange Tree is in safe hands.

The Distance; Orange Tree Theatre, Clarence Street, Richmond; until November 8; visit orangetreetheatre.co.uk for more details.