Despite a rather shaky start and the monotonous presence of extras playing ball for a full fifteen minutes before the start of the play, this adaptation of the 1949 film by Pete Wilkes and Hugo Havranek almost fulfils all its promises. I was, however, disappointed by the lack of the promised flying cows as this would have truly added comical value to an already witty production.

The Peterhouse Theatre is highly suited to the production, its charming intimacy allowing  the actors to interact with the audience, the stage serving as a border between England and ‘Burgundy’ where the audience is interrogated about items they wish to declare such as hashish, opium and strangely enough agricultural machinery. From a scene on a tube with a rather awkward and yet amusing incident involving an overly enthusiastic and rather annoying Cambridge Professor to a convincing imitation of the distinctive sound of the news on the radio which Upstairs Downstairs and Downton Abbey fans will appreciate, this play is quintessentially British.

Although set in a distant day the play is surprisingly topical. From a mention of ‘boosting the economy’ to looting and rioting, there seems to be a foreshadowing of modern day events. Marika Mckennell gave a plausible performance- from pulling off a cockney accent to bursting into song and Jamie Webb who played Mr. Pemberton was perfectly cast for the role of an unassuming resident of Pimlico who suddenly finds himself in the spotlight as Prime Minister of Burgundy.

Despite its endearing qualities this is far from a perfect production. The play did not run like clockwork with the audience experiencing long and frequent periods of darkness between scenes and I was somewhat doubtful about the authenticity of the play when I witnessed a policeman wearing jeans. Nonetheless there is certainly no need for a passport for the audience to be whisked away to a bygone era.