BEWIGGED, bothered and bewildered, Britt Ekland's character Juliette - a wife about to learn her husband is a love rat - appears quite late in the proceedings.

Even so, the somewhat dowdily-dressed former Swedish sex bomb throws herself into the fray of mistaken identity, comic timing and drunken impropriety with enthusiasm.

Most will have gone home happy just to say they've seen an international celebrity frolicking somewhat carefully on stage.

The debut tour of this Marc Camoletti Paris-set French farce, transformed into English by Tudor Gates, has quite a complex plot with Giles Watling as jealous husband Bernard proving a master of talking in riddles. He's aided beautifully by Sabina Franklyn, as his cheating wife Jacqueline, and Anita Graham, as the world's grumpiest maid, Marie-Louise.

David Callister is given another opportunity to shine as Jacqueline's lover Robert, who is faced with the ultimatum of death or handing his wife over for the night to Bernard.

Robert craftily responds by hiring hooker Barbara (a short-skirted excursion for Malandra Burrows) to pose as wife Juliette.

This is the fine art of the unexpected meeting the unlikely, and Ekland's Juliette duly turns up at Bernard and Jacqueline's apartment at the wrong moment.

Cue scenes of panic and confusion. There are still plenty of highly watchable sight gags even if this steamy-sounding scenario never gets much further than Bernard having his coat dishevelled. As pudding races go, this is almost a complete farce.

Runs until Saturday. Box Office: (01325) 486 555.

Published: 12/05/2005