Bedroom swapping, mistaken identity, and lots of door slamming – it can only mean one thing…

Silly old Bernard thinks he can pull off the daring feat of housing his mistress Brigit and his wife Jacqueline under the same roof for the night. His ploy is to pass off his mistress as his friend Robert’s girlfriend. But Robert’s having none of it because he is having a clandestine affair with Jacqueline. Throw in a temporary home help also called Brigit and things start to really get complicated. Lovers’ tiffs, hush money, glamorous nightwear and people jumping out of windows is just the half of it.

The Company of Ten’s latest production is the fast paced, outrageous farce Happy Birthday by the master of the genre Marc Camoletti.

Farce is recognised as one of the hardest acts to pull off, director Roger Scales explains: “You have to have your wits about you when working on a farce because of the extremely frantic pace required. Actors are effectively thrust into a state of almost constant, accelerating chaos, while at the same time having to be in full control of the dialogue, the plot and the timing.

“I have always thought that if you can successfully play farce you can truly consider yourself an actor. Holding and manipulating an audience and keeping it in rapt attention no matter how improbable the storyline gets is not for the faint-hearted!”

Performances take place on the main stage from Friday, June 29 until Saturday, July 7. To book tickets go to abbeytheatre.org.uk or call the box office on 01727 857861.