The Double Inconstancy

London Classic Theatre is a consistently impressive touring company, usually producing sharp productions of modern classics. Here, however, they've gone back to 1723 with a sumptuous production of a Marivaux comedy of manners.

The first thing that hits the eye is Geraldine Bunzl's elegant set, artfully designed to fool the eye into seeing it as more solid than it is. The costumes, too, are ravishing.

As for the plot, well it's a sort of fairy tale, a prince disguised as a soldier falling for a peasant girl, combined with commedia dell'arte (one of the characters is even called Harlequin).

It's full of talk, of schemes, of attitudes and of love. It must be played in a mannered style and it could fall very flat indeed. Happily there's no chance of that with Michael Cabot's excellent direction of his fine cast.

Abbey Leamon and Kevin Drury are robustly 'oop North as feisty Sylvia and down to earth Harlequin. Tracey-Anne Liles is superbly aristocratic as the scheming Flaminia while Benjamin Warren radiates charm as the prince. Jonathan Ashley is the wonderfully put-upon servant Trivelin, even being on the receiving end of a genuine slapstick - and a fine noise it makes too. It's a shame that coquettish Lisette fades away just when we're eager to see more of Georgina Landau's flirty airhead.

It took me a little while to adjust to its artificiality but once adjusted the understanding direction, clear speaking, expert comic playing and perfectly judged design make an 18th Century French play seem fresh and newly minted in this elegantly enjoyable production.