Farce Thrives

OK. When I picture a certain kind of British farce I think slammed doors, curvy women falling out of their undies and English accents in overdrive (even by native speakers. I don’t know why).

This does not mean I don’t like British farces. I am, as it turns out, very fond of them, as fond as Gwendolyn, in “The Importance of Being Earnest� is of the name Ernest (a decorous farce).

That’s because of what all kinds of farces have in common — a stage full of glib actors all heading to a good end after a parade of catastrophic blunders.

Which is why “Not Now, Darling,â€� a  1967 play by Ray Cooney and John Chapman at The Sherman Playhouse, works for me.

The setting is a swanky  fur salon in which one Arnold Crouch (Vivian Berger) is moving mannequins around, gripping their breasts. “Can’t you see I have my hands full?â€� he tells his assistant Miss Tipdale (Alison Bernhardt). And so it goes with Gilbert Bodley (Peter Pecora) scheming to bed Janie (Tracy Hurd) by getting her husband to buy her a mink coat. Don’t ask.

What follows is the usual cascade of mistaken identities, idiotic surprises, miscomprehensions and, of course, slammed doors, curvy women falling out of their undies and English accents in overdrive.

Director Francis A. Daley keeps the pace at a breakneck speed and the actors all appear to be having a swell time.

“Not Now, Darling� runs at the Sherman Playhouse through May 9. For tickets, call 860-354-3622.

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