The Queen's Theatre, Hornchurch has a lot to be very proud of.

It enjoys full houses, a talented resident repertory company, a foresighted artistic director in Bob Carlton and, most recently, it has been awarded the entire grant from the London Art Board for developing theatre in outer London.

The theatre enjoys success because it puts on good performances - even when the material the actors have to work with isn't that great.

Don't Dress for Dinner directed by Matt Devitt is a farce. It's the usual sort of thing.

A group of people in a country house, all sleeping with people they shouldn't while trying to disguise the fact from their legitimate (and often philandering) partners.

The audience loved it. They roared at the obvious jokes and unlikely situations as though they hadn't seen them coming a mile off.

The show certainly had its moments. But I own to having been rather dissappointed.

Paul Leonard as Bernard went through the whole evening doing a poor impression of the late and great Leonard Rossitor.

Anthony Hunt normally lights up the stage with his very presence. But he looked decidedly uncomfortable and unconvincing in his role as the visiting friend Robert, who's having an affair with Bernard's wife Jaqueline.

As to Liz Marsh's portrayal of Bernard's model mistress - well she is tall and has a great figure.

It was left to Diana Croft as Jaqueline and Wendy Parkin as the hired cook Suzette to hold the show together.

There are laughs to be had but the show could be tighter, funnier and somehow less akward.

Repertory company Cut to the Chase can do comedy. They usually do it very well, but for me this show just didn't quite gel.

Don't Dress for Dinner is at the Queen's Theatre, Billet Lane, Hornchurch until April 8.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.