Charley's Aunt (From Brazil, where the nuts come from)

Charley's Aunt was originally performed in 1892, and ran for 4 years. The current production stars Matthew Horne as Lord Fancourt Babberley, and is excellent!

It is pure, frothy, Victorian farce. Horne is excellent as Lord Fancourt-Babberley, coerced by his friends into impersonating Charley's aunt, Donna Lucia, in order to act as chaperone so they can see their respective sweethearts.

The plot is, of course, entirely predictable and the ending obvious from the outset, but that in no way detracts from the entertainment value. It has a similar flavour to 'The Importance of Being Ernest', but without the depth...

Matthew Horne is the star of the show but the supporting cast, particularly Jane Asher (Charley's real aunt), are excellent. I think it's fair to say that the male characters are stronger than the female ones, but I think this is down to the writing not the actors - the female characters (other than the real Donna Lucia) are present really only as the love-interests for their respective swains.

All in all, good, clean, undemanding fun. The set was also impressive (although elaborate, which was no doubt why the play had two full intervals, rather than just a quick scene change!)