Francis O’Connor’s stage set is as adventurous and bold as we have come to expect from his best work, while Patrick Mason’s direction, although perhaps going for the more obvious big laughs at the expense of the subtle implications, at least avoids the trap of doing everything like we’ve heard it before, as when Rosaleen Linehan as Lady Bracknell comes out with a much more muted and shocked ‘a handbag’ than the imperious tone we have come to associate with that utterance, courtesy of Dame Edith Evans’ near definitive interpretation of the part.
Linehan shines as the old dragon, showing that there’s more than one way to play Lady Bracknell, but the entire cast scarcely puts a foot wrong. Dawn Bradfield as the precocious Cecily, and Harry Towb as the shambling Chasuble, are particularly memorable. This show will warm the cockles of many hearts for the winter evenings to come, and shows once again that, ultimately, ‘the play’s the thing’.

First published in 46A