"Ding Dong" by Marc Camoletti.

Ashby Dramatic Society.

Venture Theatre, Ashby de la Zouche.

Bernard Marcellin has discovered that his wife, Jacqueline, is having an affair with Robert Regnier. Being a reasonable businessman, Bernard gives Robert two options to compensate for the affair......

Robert chooses one of the options and so they aim to seal the deal with a meal with both couples, much to the frustration of their overworked and underpaid maid, Marie-Louise. Jacqueline does not know that Bernard has found out about her affair and is stunned to learn that their dinner guests are in fact her lover and "his wife".

The action of the play takes place in the Marcellin's duplex apartment in Paris, set in the year 2000.

Bernard is played by David Hare, who I've had the pleasure of seeing in previous plays at Venture, proving what an excellent comedy actor he is. In this production we get to see a brilliantly slimy, physical comedy performance by David, who slips into Franglais with great ease. Now, I haven't seen this play before, nor do I know the script, but I had a feeling that there were a few lines of improvisation with David, as well as a couple of the other cast members, especially Claire. 

David is on stage quite a bit of the time and has swathes of script to deliver, and much of it at speed. That in mind, being able to think on his feet and deliver believable and apt improvised pieces is something that any actor would love to have in their dramatic arsenal.

Jacqueline is played by Jo Coupe. Another actor who I've had the pleasure of witnessing her comedic prowess when she played the role of the younger Queen Elizabeth last year at Venture in "Handbagged". Aside from the previous comic talents shown previously, I also appreciated an actor who could act as a drunk - well I say that, but the gradual onset of tipsiness at the dinner party was wonderfully observed. Does this make Jo a great method actor I wondered! Jo also gets to wear the "costume of the show" at the dinner party, in my humble opinion.

Robert is played by Richard Hitchcock. Richard is an actor that I've not seen before, and this is his Venture Theatre debut, and what a way to make a splash in Ashby. Farce has various pace, and I loved the over the top sections that featured Richard, who also showed a smooth physical comedy side of him. As I say, I've not seen Richard on stage before so have nothing to make any comparisons with, so as a starting block, he impressed me as this squirming love rat.

Juliette, Robert's wife, is played by Mercedes Cook, a recent newbie to Ashby Dramatic Society. Mercedes brings a nice level of class to the play as Robert's upper class wife. It's no secret that I love an accent that actually sounds accurate, and Mercedes' French accent, when pretending to be Nicole Levee, is spot on. 

Marie-Louise, the maid, is played by Claire Kavanagh. I noted that I have seen all of Claire's characters while at Venture, all of them being very strong character roles. Comedy is possibly the hardest style of acting to pull off but Claire is wonderfully natural in this put upon role. I got echoes of Victoria Wood in this character, and the scenes with David and Jo were comedy gold. No two performances are ever the same and I think the audience on Friday night got a performance from this trio that, possibly, was quite unique!

Barbara, a call girl, is played by Tracey Hasler. Every character in this play is a stand alone character and has plenty to offer. What I enjoyed about Tracey's version of a "good time gal" is the accent. Proper down to earth and common, but even though she knew why she had been hired, she presented the "tart with a heart" persona wonderfully. I will not reveal though whether she had to work for the payment she received!

Marc Camoletti's play has been adapted from his original French play "Sexe et Jalousie" by Tudor Gates. Marc is also responsible for another well known, and oft performed piece of theatre, "Boeing Boeing".

Directed by Mel Mitchell, who makes her Directorial debut with this farce. Farce is all about pace and Mel gets this ingredient perfect. The cast have been collated really well, especially choosing actors who have the ability to perform comedy to this level.

Anna Golden is the Associate Director.

Set design shows an upper class room with stylish furniture and decor with the four doorways and a double set of glass doors leading to the external area to qualify the play to be labelled a "farce". It is an unwritten rule in theatre that if a play has six doors or more, then it is a farce. Signalling that Parisian location, we see the Eiffel Tower in the background through the open glass doors that lead onto the veranda area.

Andrea Beirne's props collection is worthy of noting as well.

Sound design is by  Martin Pritchard and operated by Gemma Pritchard. Thank goodness someone invented the doorbell sound effect, as this show would not be the same without that particular sound effect. With every ring of the doorbell, the stakes, and the hilarity rise, and of course gives the play its' title.

Lighting design is by Aleyn Lester and operated by Martin Pritchard. Simple but effective design that was effectively operated.

Costumes are thanks to Karen Heath. The male costumes are smart casual, but it's the costumes for the women that really grab the attention, like Jacqueline's dinner party ensemble, Barbara's terrifically tacky costume and the really apt Maid's costume. All the costumes give you an instant incite into the character of the various roles.

Smoothly stage managed by Patrick Seaman.

There's much more that I could say regarding the storyline of this play, but would I give away too much and spoil your enjoyment of this magnifique comedy? Mais Non! Sacre bleu!

"Ding Dong" is at The Venture Theatre, Ashby de la Zouche until Saturday 29 March.