Relatively Speaking, Purbeck Players, Mowlem Theatre, Swanage

MEET My Father, as this comedy was originally titled, was written "to make people laugh when their seaside holidays were spoiled by rain".

It wasn't raining, and on a chilly November evening there were unlikely to have been many holidaymakers in the audience, but yes, it certainly had the desired effect on those hardy souls who braved the elements.

The angst and soul-bearing of Ayckbourn's later plays was barely evident in the plot, in which a young woman, Ginny (Kerry Greener), decides to visit her older - and married - ex-lover to end their relationship, telling her boyfriend Greg (Darren Jalland) a white lie. When Greg turns up unexpectedly and mistakes the couple (John Murphy and Rosemary Ford) for her parents, the scene is set for total, hilarious confusion.

Perhaps Mr Ayckbourn had not quite got into his stride when he wrote this in 1965, because it was some considerable time into the first act before the play really began to move and become interesting. However, once it got going the laughs came thick and fast, and all four performances were beautifully characterised.

Congratulations too to the comp-any for a superb set and some very effective 1960s' props.