THE new production of The Hypochondriac currently showing at the Theatre Royal in Bath, in spite of its macabre focus on ill health, is a charming and funny play with a relevance far outreaching the period of its origin.

Produced by Moliere, the 17th century French playwright most well-known for The Misanthrope, this staging comes from an adaptation by Richard Bean, of One Man, Two Guvnors’ fame.

Fusing light hearted song and dance, grotesquely amusing farce and biting satire, The Hypochondriac packs a punch strong enough to put an audience in hospital.

Tony Robinson’s Argan, the titular hypochondriac (or, the direct French translation, ‘imaginary invalid’), is a perfectly healthy man who seeks out disease and death to give his life purpose.

His personal physician Dr Purgon, far from helping him by admitting to his good health, is more than happy to diagnose Argan with various ailments he doesn’t have, ranging from deafness to tapeworms.

The very same naiveté that compels Argan to place the utmost faith in his doctor is applied to his scheming wife, Beline, played by Imogen Stubbs.

Beline spends the play plotting a means of taking Argan’s money after his demise. To do this she needs to get his daughter, Angelique, who will inherit her father's money, out of the picture.

Meanwhile Angelique is engaged in her own struggle, between marrying the man presented to her by her father or choosing love and being cast out to a nunnery.

The play, through its use of Argan and his hypochondria, savagely satirises the medical profession and mocks the pedestal of authority upon which society places its doctors.

To a wider extent it also critiques our ability to self-deceive, to achieve a state of tunnel vision that blocks out the voices of reason surrounding us.

It explores these rather heavy concepts with wit and ease, making use of whimsical musical interludes that tend to revolve around illness and bodily fluids.

The writing is sharp and carried well by the actors. Tony Robinson, famous for his role as Baldrick in Blackadder, is well suited to the role of Argan, who is miserable and stern without complete abandonment of an endearing core.

The supporting cast do equally well, with special credit due to the main actresses in the production, who work well in contrast with one another as three starkly different personalities.

Ultimately the play is a lot of fun and you’ll leave the theatre with a smile on your face - if a tad concerned about that nagging cough you’ve had the past few days.

The Hypochondriac will appear at the Theatre Royal Bath until Saturday, October 18. Tickets are available from the box office on 01225 448844 or online at www.theatreroyal.org.uk.