BRITISH comedy of the highest order is being staged by Weymouth Drama Club this week. Ray Cooney’s Out Of Order, which won an Oliver Award in 1991, is a brilliant knockabout comedy with a twist where things are not what they seem and fringe characters complicate matters much more than necessary.
Labour Junior Minister Richard Willey is planning to spend the night in Suite 648 at the four-star Westminster Hotel, London, with Jane Worthington, one of the opposition’s junior secretaries.
Things start to go disastrously wrong early on, when expecting only to handle Jane’s body, Richard discovers the ‘body’ of a man trapped in the suite’s unreliable sash window.
Desperately trying to get out of what has suddenly become an extremely sticky situation, Richard summons his trusty Parliamentary private secretary, George Pigden, to the hotel to sort things out.
With ‘help’ from a motley assortment of hotel staff and residents, Richard sinks further into troubled waters and matters are further complicated by the arrival of Jane’s irate husband and Richard’s wife.
“We have had such a good time doing the play because it is extremely funny,” said director Dennis Dunford. “It starts off very amusing and just gets funnier and funnier as the plot gets more complex and the people get more tangled up in it.”
He added that the cast has been absolutely wonderful.
“I tried to do the play about six years ago but had to let it go because the drama club didn’t have enough men,” he said.
“This time I had a few problems because there were enough men; but not enough women wanted to do it because it involves not wearing many clothes at one point!”
The role of Richard Willey is taken by Chris Walker, with Debbie Green playing Jane and Dave Moore playing put-upon private secretary George.
Richard and Jane’s wronged wife and husband are played by Cheralyn Bush and Geo Brown.
Out Of Order is at the Pavilion Theatre, from Thursday to Saturday with performances at 7.30pm.
Tickets are £9.50 from the box office on 01305 783225 or weymouthdramaclub.co.uk
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here