IT was a major Broadway and Big Screen success ...now Barefoot in the Park will be presented on an intimate Hampshire stage.

This sparkling romantic comedy, written by Neil Simon and Directed by Alec Walters, centres around newly-weds Corrie and Paul Bratter.

As they move into their freezing apartment in New York, free-spirited Corrie is effervescent at the thought of home-making.

Paul however, is a straight-laced lawyer more interested in his burgeoning career.

When their bohemian new neighbour drops in, Corrie tries to pair him off with her lonely mother, which ironically exposes cracks in the Bratter's own marriage.

Barefoot in the Park is one of over thirty plays written by Neil Simon and it exploded on to Broadway in 1963, running for over 1500 performances.

It was subsequently made into the highly successful 1967 film starring Jane Fonda and Robert Redford, making it an interesting choice for the small Chesil Theatre stage.

Director Alec Walters commented on the production, “This has been great fun to work on, and will be a special treat for our audiences if they might be suffering from the January blues, because very simply, this play will make you laugh!

"On a deeper level it deals with stress and strain in relationships, yet its greatest gift is to allow the audience to study this with great humour.

“There are of course lessons to be learned, and as the play unravels, our characters reveal that the secret of a successful relationship lies in compromise and being open to change. If only all conflicts could be resolved by walking ‘barefoot in the park’…?

Performance dates: January 24-31 (not Sunday) at 7.45pm and January 31 at 2.30pm. Tickets £10 & £12 Book now: chesiltheatre.org.uk 0333 666 3366 (booking fee applies)