The characters in Graeme Garden’s adaptation of Georges Feydeau and Maurice Desvallieres’ play “La Mariage de Barillon” simply fill the stage and give the audience an evening of French farce that could hardly be bettered. Deborah Norton directs with detail which allows the actors to have fun with their characters in a nice set designed by Tim Reed.

Barillon (Griff Rhys Jones) thinks he is onto a good thing when he arrives for his marriage to the young Virginie (Diana Morrison) at the Mayor’s Marriage parlour in Paris on April the first, 1890, but it was not to be. Incompetent clerks and deception soon turn things around and he finishes up with the mother in law Madame Jambert (Alison Steadman). Other characters pass through the plot to complicate the goings on and all makes for riotous encounters. John Nettleton as Planturel, Des McAleer as Brigot and Geoffrey McGivern as the long lost husband all make the evening go with a swing.

This is one of those plays that collects mixed age audiences who will appreciate what they see performed by some fine actors. Go and enjoy. © BA

“Horse and Carriage” is in Leeds from the 1st November to the 1st December, 2001.