Salisbury Playhouse

Until April 7

BLANCHE McIntyre directs a delectable revival of George Axelrod’s comedy at the Playhouse, where the design, by James Cotterill, and lighting by Malcolm Rippeth, are simply superb.

Gyruri Sarossy, as Richard Sherman, is left to sweat out the summer of 1952 in New York, while his wife and son leave the city for a cooler life at the beach.

Richard investigates the source of a hefty patio tub, complete with tomato plant, that crashes onto his terrace from the apartment above, He was sitting there earlier, he muses, and could have been killed.

So, shaken but not stirred, he invites the errant neighbour, Verity Rushworth, to come down for a drink.

The incident unleashes a cavalcade of brilliant fantasies as the lone Richard's. imagination runs riot – and his thoughts are portrayed visually.

The torment he experiences is vividly portrayed, and brief telephone calls from his charming wife Helen (Hattie Ladbury) trigger thoughts that she, too, may be tempted to stray.

Untimely visits from the stout, perspiring Dr Brubaker (Gerard Murphy) only complicate matters, and Richard seems unable to cope with a simple request from Helen.

The arrival of Tom Mackenzie (Michael Stevenson) is the catalyst for action.