REVIEW

Worst Wedding Ever

Salisbury Playhouse

until February 25

CHRIS Chibnall's hit comedy, Worst Wedding Ever, directed by Gareth Machin, is a brilliant depiction of a family's life, beset by love, fears and foibles, and embellished with side-splitting hilarity.

Don't miss this superb new production of the play, which was originally commissioned and premiered at Salisbury in 2014.

Rachel (Elisabeth Hopper) and Scott (Nav Sidhu) may cherish fantasies of being wed on a beach in Hawaii or a narrowboat on an English canal, but finances are tight, and Rachel's mum Liz (Julia Hills) is keen to organise the couple's big day.

She introduces them to local vicar Graeme (Kieran Hill) who is happy to help, but finds himself embroiled in alarming situations.

Rachel's dad Mel (Derek Frood) who has two huge dogs, agrees to take them to kennels , but instead sedates and secures them in the garden shed.

Other potential problems include Rachel's sister Alison (Elizabeth Cadwallader), an irresponsible brother, newly arrived from Thailand, and Alison's ex-husband, a member of the band which steps in to play at the reception.

Four accomplished musicians (who also performed in the foyer before the show), play aptly themed numbers that complement the action and add spice to the production

Amid rich strands of comedy are heart-wrenching personal revelations that plunged the appreciative audience into shocked silence.

Design by James Button, lighting by Peter Hunter and sound by Mark Noble are all excellent.

There are opening scenes in a department store and the garden where Mel is completing an elaborate sandpit (for potential grandchildren or for the convenience of the dogs?) The action is centred in the garden, which eventually accommodates two large portaloos (a further hazard).

Worst Wedding Ever evokes laughter galore. Neighbours and nuisances cause chaos, but all ends on a peaceful , poignant note, while one may only imagine how events unfold elsewhere.

Stella Taylor