One For The Pot

St Edmund's Hall, Southwold

This season is going from strength to strength.

The third offering from Jill Freud and Company is a Brian Rix farce, written by Ray Cooney and Tony Hilton.

First performed in 1961, it is just as hilarious today in Richard Frost's production.

Gerry Hinks plays a wealthy mill owner seeking the sole surviving relative of the mill's manager to give away £10,000. All seems straightforward when Billy Hickory Wood, a simple but well-meaning lad, appears to be the only contender. Nigel Pilkington is the star of the show, playing not only Billy but also all his long-lost brothers who gradually emerge to create a myriad of opportunities for mistaken identity, disguise, unlikely hiding places, split-second timing and, of course, the occasional inevitable loss of trousers.

Jonathan Ashley plays the unctuous butler who helps to engineer many of the highly improbable situations, often liaising with Billy's minder (Clive Flint) to make every possible comic use of Maurice Rubens' versatile set, which incorporates a sideboard drawer which becomes an unexpected weapon at the stamp of a foot.

Sidi Scott has choreographed a tango which uses every part of the set.

For an evening of non-stop entertainment, this play comes highly recommended.

t The play continues until 25 August.