Theatre

Cicely Hamilton’s enjoyable Edwardian romantic-comedy concerns Diana Massingberd, a beautiful and intelligent young woman who is desperate to escape the unrelenting drudgery of life as a live-in shop girl at Dobson’s Drapery Emporium. Salvation comes with a modest sum of money bequeathed by a recently deceased uncle. But rather than save the windfall and secure her future, Diana opts for ‘one crowded hour of glorious life’ and decides to blow it all. She travels to Switzerland where she encounters the pampered Captain Victor Bretherton who falls in love with her, not knowing her true predicament.

For an influential feminist playwright who never married, the ending is unforgivably saccharine. And while the play is celebrated for its unprecedented portrayal of working-class women, its gutsy heroine is still the daughter of a doctor who is seeking ‘life’s larger truths’. Still, in Caroline Smith’s shrewd production these are minor grumbles. Cate Debenham-Taylor (Diana) and Edward Bennett (Captain Bretherton) are particularly good in a strong cast. This may be a delightful romp, but it’s also an insightful social history of pleasing substance.