Perfect Pitch

Eight years ago we spent a week in a tent on a clifftop campsite in Whitby.

Every night the Geordie family in the caravan next door were shouting, screaming, singing, drinking and fighting.

We've spent every holiday since in a caravan and had not a moment of trouble from our neighbours.

Ron and Yvonne, on their first caravan holiday on a cliff further down the same coastline, are not so lucky.

In Keighley Playhouse's latest production, noises are the least of problems caused by the next-door couple Grant and Steph.

Noisy lovemaking, belching, farting and leering make them the archetypal neighbours from hell.

The result, as repressed Ron and horrified-but-fascinated Yvonne interact with the Neanderthals, is a night of belly laughs.

And while writer John Godber masterfully mines the comic potential of the situation, he gradually introduces a more serious tone.

His characters prove more than cardboard comedy cut-outs, and the four members of the cast rise to the challenge superbly.

Kevin Moore, Gilly Rogers, Kevin Wilkinson and Debbie Bowman are all experienced actors, and present memorable and hilarious characters.

Equally excellent is first-time Playhouse producer Steven Clark, who keeps the pace fast and the performances tight while contributing inventive touches.

The language and the themes of Perfect Pitch are very rude, but certainly not gratuitous in a play that while hilarious also rings very true.

lTonight/tomorrow 7.30pm, phone 01535 604764.

David Knights