Tams do their best to cheer us all up

THE Tamaritans clearly believe that we all need cheering up in these parlous times, as their next production is another laughter-raiser, though a very different one from their previous show.

A change of style is assured as they swap from the sophisticated high comedy of The Woman Who Cooked Her Husband to end-of-the-pier farce with Cash On Delivery.

SOFA SO GOOD: From left above are Lucy Sayer, David Wilkes, George Sutton, Noel Preston-Jones, Sally Buswell, Trevor Hampton, Hilary Walker, Dave Martin and Jemma Vigus- Notman. On the sofa is Bob Howard. Left: Dave Martin is 'prompted' by Hilary Walker

Author Michel Cooney is the son of Ray Cooney, author of Run For Your Wife and other box-office hits.

He honed his craft when he was a member of Brian Rix's Whitehall Farce team, so this play starts with a favourable pedigree.

Cooney junior has peopled it with a multitude of colourful characters. Central to the plot is Eric, who has lost his job with the electricity company, and cannot bring himself to tell his wife, so for years he has drawn a considerable income from fraudulent DSS fiddles, inventing a number of claimants living at his home: but the scam can't go on for ever.

When Mr Jenkins the DSS Inspector calls it is unfortunate (for Eric) that he is admitted by the real lodger Norman, because Eric has just told the DSS that Norman has died, and left a (non-existent) destitute wife and children.

One little deceit follows another until mayhem ensues, involving Eric's wife, his Uncle George, the undertaker, a bereavement counsellor, a psychiatrist, Norman's fiancée, a corpse, the ominous Ms Cowper – and a washing machine with a mind of its own.

A word of warning here; the plot bids fair to be the most convoluted and complicated of any ever staged, so audiences will have to keep their wits about them what with all the mistaken and assumed identities, fake illnesses such as gout and deafness, transvestism and all the multiple elements that constitute farce.

Director Jeff Strickland's cast is headed by Noel Preston-Jones as Eric and George Sutton as Norman. Also in the case are Sally Buswell, Dave Martin, Trevor Hampton, Robert Howard, Hilary Walker, David Wilks, Jemma Vigus-Notman and Lucy Sayer, making her debut with the company.

Cash On Delivery runs at the Athenaeum Theatre from Wednesday, March 25, to Saturday, March 28, at 7.30pm, with a matinée at 2.30pm on the Saturday.