How does a tubby plain girl find a husband?

Set in 1973, Wedding of the Year attempts to answer the question.

The dowdy Alison has reached the ripe old age of 29 and is more interested in biscuits and sandwiches than finding a boyfriend. Her worried mother Ethel is at her wits end and Ethel’s friend Peggy is quick to gloat.

But Alison’s uncle Frank has the solution – enter her into the local newspaper’s Wedding of the Year competition. The church is booked, the reception planned, the dress is made - the only problem is there are just six weeks to go and still no groom.

Enter a jealous friend, a worried mother, couple of maiden aunts – who only speak in proverbs – and despairing neighbour Walter and his hapless son Melvyn, who destroys most things he touches, you have all the ingredients of an amusing, if slightly silly, comedy piece.

And The Masque Players, under the direction of Sue Hayes, are on good form with this latest production. With touches of farce, the play bowls along nicely with plenty of laughs and plenty of pace.

The cast is strong as they milk the laughs and humour from this play from the pen of Norman Robbins.

An enjoyable evening.

Wedding of the Year is being performed at Kesgrave Community Centre until March 19

JAMES MARSTON