Theatre program.

Stars Lorraine Bayly and Rex Garner with direction by Rex Garner.

Performances of Ray Cooney's "Chase Me, Comrade!", by the Therry Dramatic Society, directed by Keith Hind, cast members: Celine Griffin, Harry Stapleton, Len Ashby, Carine Morrison, Russell Georg, Rikki Edwards, Fred Dobbin, Richard Durrant, Stella Riggall and Michael Bakaloff.

A study of the popular modern dramatists and the continuity of the farce tradition from Pinero to Travers, the Whitehall team and Orton which examines and questions some of the common assumptions about its nature. Farce techniques are shown to be increasingly used in serious drama.

It seems a long way from Moliere to Ray Cooney. There are immense distances between the worlds of Aristophanes, Plautus, Georges Feydeau, Ben Travers, Joe Orton and Basil Fawlty. But as one of the oldest genres in the history of the theatre, farce bridges the gaps by generating gales of helpless belly laughter across the generations. Inspired by John Mortimer’s observation that farce is 'tragedy played at a thousand revolutions a minute', theatre critic Roger Foss embarks on a lightning tour of the rib-tickling world of confused characters, absurd situations, ruined reputations, sexual innuendo and bravura comic acting and finds out if farce really is a force to be reckoned with in the 21st century. The latest addition to the Oberon Masters series, May The Farce Be With You celebrates the great creators and performers of farce, notably master farceur Ray Cooney, who celebrates his 80th birthday in 2012, in essays that will inform and entertain both the aficionado and anyone with a sense of humour.