"Hobson's Choice" by Harold Brighouse.

Nottingham Lace Market Theatre.

Henry Hobson runs a boot manufacturer business in 1880s Salford, England. He is overbearing, controlling, and has a drink problem. When his eldest daughter, Maggie, stands up to him and announces her intentions to marry one of Hobson’s employees, Willie Mossop, Hobson is not happy. He refuses to settle a dowry on either of his two younger daughters and is furious when Maggie takes matters into her own hands and sets up marriages for her sisters herself.

Maggie’s business acumen, independence, and stubbornness do not align with the old-fashioned Hobson. Together, she and Willie set up their own shoe business that strips most of Hobson’s trade and builds them up as a successful couple in business. When Hobson’s drinking gets out of control, the previously timid Willie steps in to intervene.......

I had not seen the film previously, nor had I seen a stage production of this magnificently funny, and wittily written play, so this was my first experience of this piece of theatre.

The whole feel of the play, and especially the setting of the stage and initial appearances of the characters, reminded me ever so slightly of the old BBC2 dramas, like "Play For Today", that were produced in the 60's and 70's. That and the retro kitchen sink dramas like the early Coronation Streets. I could also imagine Maggie Hobson being in Corrie at the start, especially with her quick tongue and her speech pattern.

Jennifer White plays Maggie Hobson perfectly. She had the accent down brilliantly and her battle-axe style, right from the start, let you know that she was the matriarch of the family after the mother had died. She almost allowed Henry Hobson think that he was the head of the family, just for a while, when she told him he had to be back in for dinner at seven. Hobson retaliated by stating that he decided what time dinner was, but confirmed the time of the dinner anyway. Jennifer's quick talking patter, along with the Salford accent, left you in no doubt that she was not a woman to be messed with, telling Mosson that he was going to marry her, even though he was "tokened" to another, Ada. This driven by Hobson's comments of Maggie being "too old" to marry, at thirty years old! Excellent character acting throughout.

Alice Hobson, the middle sister, is played by Isobel Munden. Alice has her eye on lawyer Albert Prosser, who she eventually weds. Charlotte Cordall plays Vickey Hobson, the younger of the two other sisters, and beau of Fred Beenstock. Both sisters are portrayed as really easy going, well they have to be I suppose as they are not even paid by their father for working in the shop. Lovely character acting and loved the accents.

Luke Willis doubles his roles, playing Fred Beenstock as well as Dr MacFarlane, who is a wonderful character, and really puts Hobson in his place. I did have to look twice because the wig and costume department really changes the way that Luke looks for these two characters, plus the Doctor has a Scottish accent, so Luke has to master both Scottish and Salford accents, which he does impeccably.

Albert Prosser is played by Tom Spencer, and Albert really comes into his own when he is advising Henry of where he stands legally. This also means that Tom also comes into his own, and I felt myself really sitting up and taking notice of the character.

Jane Pyke plays Mrs. Hepworth, the wealthy customer who, at first looked to be another battle-axe, but was the initial catalyst for this whole story. Brilliantly crotchety character, brilliantly executed.

Timothy "Tubby" Wadlow is played by Bernard Whelan. One of the minor characters but from Bernard's acting skills, you get the feeling that Tubby is put upon and his easy going character is often abused by Hobson.

Shaun Harper plays William Mossop. Here's a character with a before and after image. When first told by Maggie that he was going to marry her, the character became a wet fish, unable to stand up for himself, and then after the marriage his masterly strengths start to grow. You could just tell that Shaun was having fun with the character.

Ada Figgins, Mossop's intended, is played by Payash Raslan. I don't think that I have seen Payash on stage previously, and if that is the case, she makes a worthy debut in Ada, who is a really fun character.

Roy Smith plays Jim Heeler, one of Hobson's drinking buddies. This is Roy's Lace Market Theatre debut, and he seems quite at home on their stage.

Len Jackson plays Henry Horatio Hobson. I was absolutely hypnotised by Len's acting and his characterisation of Hobson. This is an absolute masterclass in acting from Len. There are some lengthy monologues from Hobson which Len delivered with naturalness and ease, almost as if there were no acting involved. As with all of the cast members, the accent was spot on.

Directed by Gill Scott, this is as easy to watch as if it was one of those BBC plays. It's smooth and paced perfectly. The comedy is natural and flows well and also highlights the fact that the cast has been very well chosen.

Lighting Design is by Allan Green, Phillip Hogarth and Evelyn Marriott with Sound Design by Simon Carter. Always a super crew.

The set design is a simple backdrop but the props maketh the set design, and that is what I loved about the opening of the acts. The stage is bare and then the cast place the props for the openings and then, if not needed in the scenes, retire when the lights are lowered, indicating the start of the action.

The costume department, Max Bromley, Jane Herring, Sue Roberts and Sue Drew, have pulled out all the stops and this reflects the "class" status of the characters.

Hats and wigs were provided by Linda Croston.

I mentioned the props earlier, and there were plenty of them, they were provided by Carol Parkinson and the company.

The play is a joy to watch, very funny and very well performed, and hopefully should sell out for the rest of the week. The play is not performed very regularly so I would take this opportunity to see this classic comedy while it's here.

"Hobson's Choice" is at the Nottingham Lace Market Theatre until Saturday 7 October.