Relatively Speaking, Wimborne Drama, Tivoli Theatre

ALAN Ayckbourn was asked to write this play "to make people laugh when their seaside summer holidays were spoiled by the rain and they came into the theatre to get dry before trudging back to their landladies".

I wasn't on holiday, and it wasn't raining, but this glorious comedy certainly made me laugh and raised my cold-infested spirits.

It was a little slow and dull to start with, but that was, I think, entirely down to the writing. Once this story of mistaken identities and misunderstandings picked up it was very funny and fast-paced indeed, and Barry Baynton's cast did him proud.

Carey Fern made a most impressive stage debut as Ginnie, whose intended visit to the country "to visit her parents" starts off the chain of events, and Andy Cragg was excellent as her boyfriend, Greg.

As the couple whose quiet Sunday is about to be totally disrupted, Jan Singfield (Sheila) absolutely stole the show and gave a wonderfully natural performance, while Simon Jackson (Philip) created a good characterisation but caused things to stutter somewhat on the frequent occasions when he lost his lines.

And what a lovely idea to set the English Country Garden scene with two talented young musicians, Hugo and Jessamy Pullen.