Tom Stoppard’s ‘The Real Inspector Hound, currently playing at the New Theatre, Newtown, is a good night out.

One of Stoppard’s most popular plays, ‘The Real Inspector Hound’ is about the mayhem that arises when two usually clearly delineated worlds collide; in this case, the performers in an outrageously hammy production of a murder mystery, and the two drama critics, sitting in their ivory tower in the audience, who take to the stage.

This is a play with a cracker of a start. The audience stream into the theatre to see a man sitting on the far right apron of the stage. He is sitting on a chair, looking pensively at the stage, with pen and notebook in hand. We have a picture of the drama critic in repose, and so the fun begins again.

Frank McNamara’s production shows a good feel for the play, and gives the piece a fast paced, broad brush-stroke treatment. Each member of the cast had a good handle on their character. My pick of the cast; Lyndon Jones as the self indulgent critic Moon, who is tired of being his papers’ second stringer, Sandy Vellini as the dutiful and suitably named, Mrs Drudge, and Nell Shipley as the snooty Lady Cynthia Muldoon.

McNamara was aided by a good creative team. Tony Youlden’s set worked well with the main stage area being devoted to the unfolding murder mystery, whilst he has the two drama critics holding fort at the side of the stage. Margaret Jewell’s costumes suit the 1950’s period in which the play was set.