Master Of Mayhem is Eastern Angles' 17th Christmas show with the accent on ludicrous verbal comedy, and a plethora of ludicrous comedy accents to boot. Well it is set in the circus world, a hotbed of exotic foreign temperament.

Hugh Filbert, the lithping imprethario thircus owner, is played with his usual mastery by the author and director of the piece, Julian Harries, the lisp opening up a wealth of verbal comedy (even the simple instruction "sit yourself over here" is a lisper's delight). And with only four other human beings in the cast, grappling with multiple costume and character changes, many parts are in fact skilfully played by superbly trained circus animals - lions, horses, a hippo, two performing dogs, part of a lobster(!) - and the biggest elephant you can possibly imagine! Right there on stage!

The lions undoubtedly steal the show (but they are also publicly very sarcastic about theatre critics, so I shall ignore them).

Circus Lions!

Harries, as you might expect (this is his seventh Christmas script/performance) displays a little more confidence than the rest of the cast, but they all work incredibly hard, Richard Mainwaring and Martin Belville both impressively versatile in accents and comic mannerisms, Philip Benjamin highly energetic and well suited to the pseudo-Victorian-melodrama style of the plot (regardless of which gender he is portraying), and a sweet, but never simpering performance from Ursula Early, though she was a little difficult to hear when singing.

Pat Whymark's musical numbers did not grab me as forcibly as in previous years. The audience participation opportunities seemed perhaps a little lacklustre and it was noticeable that the songs, though jolly and uplifting, did not receive the same level of applause as many of the best bits of dialogue. Perhaps this was simply because the quality and quantity of beautifully appalling puns and the sheer audacity of some of Harries' terrible gags is always going to top everything else.

There's even a joke about the lighting!

With her simple, but prettily dressed set, Rosie Alabaster turns this impossibly-small-theatre-with-no-wing-space into umpteen locations expertly.

Martin Belville, Julian Harries and Philip Benjamin

Festoons of red and amber light bulbs and beautifully sign-painted placards herald "The Staggering Camparis" and "Galloping Grace and her Equine Beauties", a full size big top is displayed, inside and out, before our very eyes, there's high wire walking, trapeze acts (the greatest gag of the evening), circus caravans sinking in the river, a flying dog, and the usual delightful myriad of Heath Robinsonian special effects which are a trademark of this company's Christmas productions, and a triumph for their stalwart stage manager Penny Griffin.

In addition, a complex array of spot sound-effects, essential to the story, is handled expertly by Bryan Hoyer.

My only disappointment was that one technical effect, essential to the climax of the final big chase, went unseen by a large proportion of the audience, myself included, as it happened behind us, and was over by the time our attention was drawn to it. A rare case of design failing to overcome the restrictions of the building.

There is a plot - but it's almost unnecessary - a framework on which to hang every pun and lisp-based innuendo in the book, and a few from the foreword.

The show is pretty much fully booked, and Eastern Angles is actively seeking a larger venue so more people can attend future productions. But I am one of many who believe that it's the impossible restrictions presented by the Sir John Mills venue which necessitate the invention of such superb theatrical devices as are displayed in this show.

Thee it if you pothibly can!

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