Comédie Française

The Worthy Players, Jubilee Hall, Kings Worthy

Clare Nicholas and Peter Wooldridge direct a double bill of short Moliere comedies, with resplendent costumes (Shirley Lovell and Alison Woolford) and effective set design by David Woolford, who starts things off with a monologue as 'George Dandin, the abashed husband' of Angelique (Barbara Kearns), who on her part makes a good case for wives who have been pushed into loveless marriages by venal parents (Tim Ellwood and Shirley Lovell, who pompously treat poor Dandin as their social inferor) and so don't mind the attentions of charmers such as Clitandre (David Early, who appears in, 'A doctor in spite of himself', in different but equally amusing guise as rough Lucas, 'country fellow'), with support from her maid Claudine (Connie Barnes, who makes a smooth transfer from panto to high comedy).

Mike Heseldin as Clitandre's servant Lubin and the woodcutter physician Sganarelle and Nick Kearns as Geronte keep the comedy flowing.

Ham Quentin