Cash on Delivery, Burdock Valley Players, Upper Clatford Village Hall

Author Michael Cooney, son of farce-master Ray, shows he’s a chip off the old block with this fast-paced, bawdy number. Lie upon lie is told to mask a deception that doesn’t come close to the ones that ensue. Eric Swan (Jon Slingsby) leads the action, with his physical comedy drawing in unwilling accomplices, Norman Bassett (Steve Pickett) and Uncle George (Graham Oxtoby).

What follows is a medley of mistaken identities, confusion and mayhem. All credit to the cast who kept the script on track and the story moving forward, all be it at a frenzied pace. Mr Jenkins (Peter Hurcomb) played the straight man superbly whilst Dr Chapman (Kevin Hession) and Sally Chessington (Karen Lindley) were deliberately and deliciously over-the-top. Not forgetting the apoplectic wife (Viv Slingsby) and a great supporting cast. The director (Will Johnson) must either be supremely confident or want his head examined in tackling this script, but his vision paid off and I’m off to lie in a darkened room to recover!

Rebecca Case