Review: A pin-sharp production by Stratford theatre group

In JB Priestley’s 1930s farce set in a small Victorian town somewhere ‘up north’, three couples gather to celebrate their shared silver wedding anniversary. They have grown fat in their endeavours - and they think themselves respectable. But they are soon to learn a dreadful secret: a glitch back then means they’re not married at all.

Thus the lid comes off and a few home truths are told, though the institution is never really threatened. Were this Ibsen or Strindberg, or even Priestley in another mood, we would be in for a more anxious examination. But we’re not. This is farce, albeit of a high order.

You couldn’t fault the production. The three couples were all the kind of stuffed shirts you’d cross the street to avoid, if you could. There were some marvellous cameo roles: Kevin Hand as the old soak Ormonroyd, was music hall itself; and Anne Grady was endearing and sexy as the girl the old boys had each enjoyed when their wives weren’t looking. Lucy Morris (who plays Phoebe in BBC Radio 4’s The Archers) was suitably cheeky as the maid Ruby Bortle; and Niki Baldwin as Mrs Northrop the cackling housekeeper, was the wicked witch of the saucepans, stirring up trouble.

Though every aspect of the show was pin-sharp and the women’s costumes quite gorgeous, I couldn’t help asking why these people would want to stay married if they didn’t have to? Is a dress or a reputation worth that much? The answer then, and probably now, is yes, though nowadays the comedy would be less respectful of the status quo.

Nick Le Mesurier