Being wooden isn’t usually a quality the Company of Ten looks for in its theatrical stars, but it has made an exception in an upcoming production of Alan Ayckbourn’s classic comedy Round and Round the Garden.

Luckily for the audience, the star in question is not an actor, but a tree.

Before making its stage debut, the tree – which forms the centrepiece of the garden where the action takes place – grew just outside the theatre in Verulamium Park.

"Some of the land beside the theatre was recently cleared so we could extend our car park," explains director Alan Bobroff.

"When we realised the tree was being felled, we just knew we had to have it for our play. However, since it was cut down about a month ago it has lost a lot of its leaves, which could have been a problem as Round and Round the Garden takes place in the summer.

"Luckily we have a very talented props manager in Judith Goodban, and she and her team have done a fantastic job not only of re-leafing the tree with artificial leaves but also of making the entire set look like an authentic English country garden in full bloom, complete with lawn, flowers and foliage."

According to Judith, the greatest challenge has not been making the garden look beautiful but – as dictated in the stage directions – making it look neglected at the same time.

"We’ve spent hours daubing the walls and garden shed to make them look old, and poking weeds into cracks," she says. "So the fact our tree looks a bit ragged actually makes it perfect for this play."

The comedy is one of a trilogy of Ayckbourn plays called The Norman Conquests, which are all set in the same country house over a single weekend. Like its companion pieces, Living Together and Table Manners, Round and Round the Garden follows the efforts of assistant librarian Norman to seduce both his wife’s sister and her sister-in-law.

Abbey Theatre, Westminster Lodge, Holywell Hill, St Albans, May 15-18 and May 21-24. Details: 01727 857861, abbeytheatre.org.uk