On safari to track down a great antiques swindle (From Tewkesbury Admag)

On safari to track down a great antiques swindle

FROM the writer of the hit film Calendar Girls comes The Safari Party, a deliciously dark comedy in three courses served up at Malvern Theatres from May 15.

This farce by Tim Firth reveals how car boot sale bargains mysteriously become exclusive antiques.

Set in the Cheshire countryside, a world of barn conversions and the heritage industry, three households are holding a safari party - a dinner party, where the guests move from house to house for each course. Farmer's boys Daniel and Adam serve the hors d'oeuvres, the entrees are served by the snobbish, upwardly mobile townies Lol and Esther and the desserts by Inga, a seemingly benign antiques dealer.

But the three households are also linked by the question of the table! The brothers sold it to Inga, inventing a lightly colourful history for it to increase its value, who sold it at a staggering profit to Lol and Esther. As the evening progresses, layers of truth are revealed and chaos flares...

A cast of much-loved actors star in this comedy by Ayckbourn protg Firth. Christopher Timothy (Lol) is known for his numerous television and stage performances, most famously as James Herriot in All Creatures Great and Small and Mac in Doctors.

Jack Ryder, perhaps better known as Jamie Mitchell in Eastenders, stars as Adam. They are joined by Sarah Crowe (Born and Bred and Four Weddings and a Funeral), David Brown (Adam Brown in Hollyoaks), Helen Noble (Abbey Davies in Hollyoaks) and Illona Linthwaite.

The Safari Party plays in the Festival Theatre, Malvern, from May 15 to 20. Tickets are £16-£22 (under 25s £8) and can be booked through the box office on 01684 892277 or www.malvern-theatres.co.uk.