ThIS latest LADS production was an artful blend of farce and the theatre of the absurd.

The cast entered into the spirit of this amusing production with flair and gusto, as playwright John Chapman would have wished.

A Hampstead dinner party farce takes a turn for the real and nasty, when the character Rupert, played by David Stone, announces that his "real-life" wife, Madge, played by Janie Eaton, is having an affair with the actor playing Charles (Joe Herron).

All three characters in the love triangle are on stage in front of an audience. The character Sarah, played by Jane Herron, is also on stage and is secretly in love with Rupert, despite the fact that he is threatening to kill Charles with a paper-knife.

As real anger sets in, Rupert's accent switches, impressively, from Brideshead Revisited to Alfie and the terrified Charles takes refuge in a trunk.

Off stage, the old ham Edward Cullen, brilliant played by David Jago, is drunk and waiting for his cue, a loud "yes".

When the cast members yell this during the mayhem, to prevent an on-stage murder, on comes Cullen to discover he's in the wrong act, scene, play and life.

Confused, he starts to relieve his bygone triumphs, with copious quotes from King Lear.

The best laugh comes when Charles leaps up from the box, as 'Kent' replying to King Lear's ravings.

This challenging production was yet another well-deserved triumph for LADS.

Gary Bills-Geddes