Mercury Theatre audiences have come to expect the unexpected. So there were no sharp intake of breath at this burlesque version of Richard Sheridan’s 18th-century comedy of manners, just a bellyful of laughs.

Taking a satirical stab at the gentry of the day, this play has some of English theatre’s most splendid comic characters, perhaps the most famous being Mrs Malaprop, who wonderfully mixes up her words to hilarious effect.

Christine Absalom has long been a favourite with Colchester theatre-goers and her portrayal of Mrs Malaprop will only endear her further. She is glorious.

Ignatius Anthony was pretty much equal to her, clearly relishing the role of delightfully boisterous Sir Anthony Absolute.

As to the rest of the cast, it’s always refreshing to see new faces in the Mercury Theatre Company, especially when they’re as good as Will Norris and Katherine Manners.

Ex-Mercury Youth Theatre members Nicholas Barton-Wines and Bethany Sharp had delightful cameos. In fact, their coy glances and side stage flirting was one of the highlights.

The highlight of the show was the closing musical number to the first half. The cast miming to Evelyn Evelyn’s atmospheric cover version of Joy Division’s Love Will Tear Us Apart was quite possibly the most beautiful, exquisite piece of theatre I’ve ever seen at the Mercury.

Director Gari Jones has always been a bit of a wiz when it comes to theatrical soundtracks, but the musical asides didn’t always work.

On a couple of occasions actors miming the songs at the back of the stage provided an unhelpful distraction from the main dialogue at the front.

That is a minor criticism in what is a brilliant show.

The design was spot on, with a stripped-back industrial set, stunningly lit up with dressing room-style lighting. That gave the set pieces a real Moulin Rouge feel, as did the colourful punky costumes.

It really is a cracking start to what promises to be another great season.

But then that’s what we’ve come to expect from the company these days.

Neil D’Arcy-Jones