by Colin J. Pytel

The burning question at Stanford Hall last week was: When did You Last See Your Trousers? And the Falcon Players once again proved that they are at their finest with farce.

Written by Ray Galton, half of the writing partnership that gave the world Hancock and Steptoe and Son, and John Antrobus, in the true tradition of British farce, this play had everything you might expect. This included a trouserless home secretary, a Danish au pair, a corrupt British bobby and a smattering of batty oddballs.

Taking the lead in the production was Stuart Bailey as Howard, a successful bookie caught the wrong side of the marital sheets minus his trousers following the theft of his suit by an opportunist burglar.

As always, Mr. Bailey turned in an excellent performance with farce appearing to be his particular strong point. His long suffering lover, Penny, was played with deadpan ease by Jo Whiting.

In Howard's quest to obtain a replacement suit, the authors moved his character further and further into farcical obsession, drawing the other protagonists into the plot with expert precision.

Katherine Heygate, a relative newcomer to the company, was the Danish au pair, Tove, which she played with a highly convincing accent. The trouserless Home Secretary, suffering from memory loss, was played by Barry Lockwood, who launched a load of laughs.

The bobby on the beat, with a fetish for flashing, was by Lawrence Holmes, who also directed this very funny addition to the Falcon Players' catalogue of successes.