By Alan Ayckbourn

Diane, our director for Stepping Out and Christmas Carol as well as this, soon had us organised. It was the first time some had done a play; both Rhiannon and Paul had not done a play before but you would never had known it. We played in Cwmbran in the lovely Congress Theatre (parking whilst unloading the van is always a challenge due to the traffic wardens) and in the Paget Rooms in Penarth, one of our regular haunts. Audiences were good, although getting an audience in Cwmbran does seem to prove difficult, but in Penarth the audiences picked up and the reception was typically warm.

The performance throughout was solid. Ernest and Delia getting the the initial "first laugh" which makes any actor breath a sigh of relief back stage when you think "They find it funny!". After you have rehearsed it a million times you sometime forget how well a script is written and once you combine it with the visual humour, which is characteristic of Ayckbourn, the combination ensures that the audience is not only listening and watching, but they are getting every nuance, thinking as well as laughing.

A definite "highlight" was the accident with the dresser which comes on in one of the final scenes. On our final night, even a Concept minimalist set, Malcolm still managed to accidentally hit one of only three flats on stage whilst walking backwards with the dresser, resulting in a soft landing for said flat: Kate's head! No embarrassed silences for us however, at this minor slip, as the audience was too busy laughing at the state of the dresser, which collapsed perfectly every night on cue. Thanks Nigel! And we've not even mentioned Trevor's pant's yet...