Epic journeys have been much in the news of late. All too real, budget-blowing treks have been undertaken by people stranded thousands of miles from home by volcanic ash. Then there have been the action-swamped journeys of people like Jake Sully in the film Avatar. Here director James Cameron, aided by the very latest in 3D computer visuals, set new standards in mythical and mystical imaginings.

After all that, Odysseus’s long journey home from Troy could seem a touch pedestrian. All praise, therefore, to Oxford student companies Outright and Acorn Productions for pioneering not only a new production but also a new version: they’ve used Mary Zimmerman’s adaptation of a Robert Fitzgerald English translation of Homer’s original. According to a programme note, this version has not been staged in the UK before, so far as is known.

Using a simple set (designer Ellie Tranter), excellent lighting (David Helyar) and atmospheric music (Laurence Osborn), director Rafaella Marcus sends Odysseus down a testing path as he makes his way home. There are vigorous fights between virile, bare-chested warriors, while in contrast there is also much languid and steamy smooching – quite apart from Odysseus’s encounter (pictured) with the beguiling Calypso (Ruby Thomas), who makes it exceedingly plain that sex comes first on the menu. Odysseus duly, and fairly graphically, obliges. Movement director Chelsea Walker stages a fine shipwreck scene, all flailing arms and oars, but my favourite encounters involving the one-eyed, giant Cyclops, and the six-headed sea monster Scylla were disappointing: Cyclops was merely a silhouette behind a white sheet, and there was no sign of Scylla.

I attended the dress rehearsal, and it was encouraging to see director Marcus standing at the back of the Oxford Playhouse stalls during the initial warm-up, firmly telling certain actors that they were inaudible – would that more directors, both amateur and professional, carried out this simple check. Diction was consequently good.

James Corrigan delivers a fine performance as Odysseus, making it realistically clear that the man is a flawed hero, who makes mistakes. You warm to him, as you should. There’s particularly strong work, too, from Christopher Adams as Odysseus’s adult son Telemachus, who starts as a considerable drip but becomes a resourceful man, and from Lucy Fyffe as Odysseus’s wife Penelope.

But the whole ensemble cast works with enthusiasm. In rehearsal, it seemed rather a long time before Odysseus was finally and joyously reunited with Penelope, but doubtless the action will speed up once the production gets before an audience.

The Odyssey continues until Saturday. Tickets 01865 305305 or online (www.oxfordplayhouse.com).