Entertaining French farce at Leamington theatre echoes Oscar Wilde classic

In his foreward, Loft director David Hankins describes the experience of watching his production of Boeing Boeing as “an evening of warmth and uncomplicated laughter” - and for me, he hits the nail on the head. While the plot itself is teaming with convoluted complications, it is total artifice - with bells on - so there are no underlying serious notes, no questions about life. It’s a case of sit back and enjoy.

The story reminded me of the Oscar Wilde classic, The Importance Of Being Earnest, and Andy MacCallum plays the role of Bernard, the delightfully cheating bachelor, very much like Wilde’s cheeky and quick-witted Algernon. Bernard has all the pleasures of having a girlfriend without any responsibilities: he has cleverly manipulated the flight timetables of three different airlines to allow him to have three air hostess fiancees (American, Italian and German) who know nothing about one another. Like Algernon, he never worries about anything and he is a gluttonous young chap. But, like butler Lane is to Algernon, Bernard cannot do without the assistance of his stroppy maid Bertha, an enjoyable role embraced full-heartedly by Katherine Crawshaw.

Bernard’s wily charms are emphasised by contrast with the stuttering, awkward Robert (Jon Elves) and the women are reduced to nothing more than national stereotypes. It is fun to watch the men tie themselves into knots when the flight timetables change, although for me the running about and panicking scenes could have been a little shorter. My favourite character had to be the wildly tempered and fiery Italian Gabriella, played by Loft newcomer Sarah Kyffin - her gestures and movements were so convincing and contributed well to an entertaining spectacle.

Sundari Cleal

NOTE: Owing to an unexpected change of circumstances, tickets for the 7.30pm performance on Wednesday (July 17) are now available for sale to the general public, rather than reserved for charity as was previously the case.

Tickets for this performance, and all other performances can be booked online at any time via the Loft Theatre website (www.loft-theatre.co.uk), or by calling 0844 493 4938 between 9am and 5pm Monday to Friday. The theatre box office will also be open on each performance evening.