Review by Margaret Farmer

KNUTSFORD Little Theatre brings the adult season to a close with a brilliant comedy by Ray Cooney and John Chapman – There Goes The Bride.

Comedy is the correct word. This play had me chuckling from the opening moments to the very last line.

When harassed advertising executive Timothy Westerby hits his head on the morning of his daughter’s wedding, he awakes to find himself in the company of Polly Perkins, a 1920s Flapper girl straight out of his current bra advertising campaign.

It soon becomes clear that no-one else can see or hear her, and when another bump on the head transports Timothy back to 1926 and the Savoy Hotel, the carefully-planned wedding preparations disintegrate into chaos as friends and family attempt to lead Timothy back to reality so he in turn might lead his daughter down the aisle.

Versatile Sean Duvall plays Timothy. Sean’s long association with KLT actually means he is reprising the role he played 22 years ago when the theatre company last staged this play.

As father of the bride, he cleverly slips into 1926 mode at the appropriate time under the influence of the bump on the head and the suitably fluttery Miss Polly Perkins, played by Sarah Lorenz, last seen at the theatre doing the can-can.

Viccie Dougall plays Judy, the daughter and prospective bride. Viccie will be known not only to KLT audiences but also as the winner of the recent Guardian It’s My Time singing competition as she is an accomplished vocalist as well as talented actress.

We welcome a new face to KLT – Vivienne Cunningham. Viv is new to Knutsford, but by no means new to acting, as is very apparent by her polished debut performance.

In more familiar, and very safe hands, are the roles of Dr and Mrs Drimmond, grandparents of the bride, played hilariously by Mike Wilding and Jill Freeman respectively, while Paul Baston plays the ‘handsome and rakish’ Bill Shorter – typecast again Paul?

Finally, audiences will be pleased to see the return of Chris Marriot playing the formidable, but ultimately very confused, potential father-in-law, Charles Babcock.

The phenomenal success of The 39 Steps, which was brought back for further sellout performances due to public demand, is literally a hard act to follow, but director Lilian Atkinson has done justice to the play.

There Goes the Bride is a farce with pace, precision and wit that gets madder and funnier as it goes along. It was last performed here in 1989, has more than stood the test of time and is not to be missed.

Tickets are £7, available from 01565 873515. The play runs from Wednesday, June 8, to Saturday, June 11, and doors open at 7pm for a 7.30pm start.