TWO of the cast who last appeared in Alan Ayckbourn’s hit comedy Relatively Speaking at the Theatre Royal Bath in 2016 make a welcome return for another hilarious tour de force.

Liza Goddard and Antony Eden carry the action as Sheila and Greg respectively in Robin Herford’s new version of this 1960s classic. They are ably supported by Steven Pacey as Sheila’s husband Philip and relative theatre newcomer Olivia Le Andersen as Ginny.

The uproariously funny comedy was first performed at the Duke of York’s Theatre in London’s West End in 1967 and kicks off the Theatre Royal Bath’s new season.

Greg only met Ginny a month ago but he has already made up his mind that she’s the girl for him. When she tells him that she’s going to visit her parents, he decides this is the moment to ask her father for his daughter’s hand.

Discovering a scribbled address, he follows her to Buckinghamshire where he finds Philip and Sheila enjoying a peaceful Sunday morning breakfast in the garden. The only thing is - they’re not Ginny’s parents!

Beautifully crafted and charmingly English, the comedy of misunderstandings was Alan Ayckbourn’s first West End hit, turning him into a household name, with the national theatre critics hailing the arrival of a great new comic talent.

After a slow start in Ginny and Greg’s London bedsit, Relatively Speaking really hits its stride when Greg arrives uninvited at Philip and Shelia’s home in Buckinghamshire.

It gives Liza Goddard the chance to display her finely-honed acting skills, comic timing and experience on stage. She is more than matched by Steven Pacey’s Philip, who becomes really confused by Greg’s declaration of love, wrongly believing that he wishes to marry his wife!

Relatively Speaking depends not so much on slapstick action but very clever word-play, creating a tangled web of deceit, lies and misunderstandings deftly handled by Robin Herford.

At the play’s heart are the issues of honesty, trust and commitment, and the angst and relationship discord that follows their absence.

All in all, Relatively Speaking supplies two hours of pure pleasure, although some elements, such as references to old ‘non-decimal’ coinage, could be updated for modern audiences.

Relatively Speaking is on at the Theatre Royal Bath until Saturday, January 21. To purchase tickets contact the Theatre Royal Bath Box Office on 01225 448844 or book online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk