RICHARD PARR Watlington Village Hall

RICHARD PARR

There were laughs a-plenty in this Ray Cooney farce, and a talented cast managed to get the best out of a very funny script.

The classic one-liners and corny gags came thick and fast in this absurd tale of bigamy in the London suburbs.

There are numerous twists and turns along the way as cab driver John Smith tries to conceal the fact that there are two Mrs Smiths.

In 2003 it could be argued that theatrical farce has seen its day, but the audience thoroughly enjoyed this frothy, sexy romp full of cross purposes and double entendres.

After a rather slow start, the action gathered pace, not least because of all the coming and goings through several doorways and almost continual confused telephone conversations as the complicated plot unfolded. There were some excellent characterisations, notably an impressive debut by Nick Thornton (reminiscent of Mr Bean) who finds himself hilariously and unwittingly caught up in Mr Smith's marital double life.

Sandra Cartwright, as Mary Smith, and Helen Fradley, as Barbara Smith, gave convincing humorous performances as the two wives while David Wagg got the best out of some mirth-making dialogue.

Peter Fiddling was spot-on in the role of the detective, and veteran Player Adrian Baxter added to his stable of character parts in the role of gay neighbour Bobby Franklyn, an audience favourite. Claire Cooper and Simon Carpenter's effective split room design made an impressive set.