There are those of us who fall into the category of people who believe that any movie or play with a swordfight is automatically worth watching. Even if you don't fall into that category, Rorschach Theatre's masterful production of Fair Ladies At A Game Of Poem Cards has plenty of other pleasures to offer.

But those swordfights! Fair Ladies mostly revolves around the tale of two samurai who fall for some off-limits ladies-in-waiting to the Empress, and the tragic consequences and imperial political scheming that results from their liaisons. And when Fair Ladies transports us into the samurai world, it treats us to some well-executed, kendo-inspired swordplay, set to a modern soundtrack with eastern influences.

The clear effort and attention that Rorschach has paid in creating those killer fight scenes shows up in nearly every aspect of Fair Ladies. Rorschach's shows take place in a small room within a Columbia Heights church, but thanks to innovative set design, their productions never feel constrained. Here, whether cast members are racing across high wooden platforms or shaded behind hazily-lit screens, not an inch of the performance space goes to waste, and the setting feels realistic, whether it be a palace or a forest.

Fair Ladies' lyrical script relies heavily on verse, but the dialogue never feels overly heavy or plodding, and often delivers laughs and even moments of profundity. Certainly not hurting matters is the show's stellar cast. As Yokobue, one of the two ingenues who fall for the samurai, Nelina Giridhar presents a heartbreaking portrayal of love lost; as Karumo, the other smitten woman, Jai Khalsa pairs a steely sense of self-worth with impressive comic timing. The objects of the ladies' affections are Takiguchi and Yoshitsugu; as the former, Patrick Bussink brings both a masculine swagger and a tender touch to his role, and while Cesar A. Guadamuz sometimes seems a bit wide-eyed and goofy for his part, he stil invests his character's serious moments with sincerity. Scott McCormick is every bit the booming, grandiose villain as Morotaka, the jealous warden of the ladies-in-waiting who schemes for nothing less than death as punishment for the four lovers.

Fair Ladies has many lovely scenes, such as a romantic trip to the woods where the four main characters eagerly and silently search for their partners and end up snagging the wrong lovers. It also has many beautiful small touches, like when a songbird, a small but key plot point before unseen by the audience, suddenly comes to life on a string attached to a stick weilded by the empress (Rahaleh Nassri); the bird flies prettily above the hands of those desperate to catch it. But the strength of Rorschach's production is that rather than being just a collection of strong performances and occasionally moving moments, the work as a whole provides an unusual but captivating night at the theatre that is satisfying from beginning to end.

Fair Ladies runs through Feb. 19 at the Sanctuary Theatre in Casa Del Pueblo Methodist Church. More information is available on the Rorschach Web site.