BRITAIN in the early 1950s was vastly different than it is in the present.

The end of Attlee was achieved by Churchill. Rationing still abounded, as did the old guard, clinging on to their last few years of relevance as the empire and Britain’s military power ebbed inexorably.

It is this world that the director of Relative Values, a Noel Coward play, begs you to imagine with the use of monochromatic film footage, from the beginning, throughout the performance.

Following the last of the footage, the screen onto which the film is projected then disappears into the rafters. We are then transported into a world quite unlike anything outside it.

A sumptuous sitting room, crowded with busts and unread books, is where Crestwell (Rory Bremner), a butler, and Moxie (Caroline Quentin), a maid, argue over trivial matters.

Soon the lady the house, Felicity, the Countess of Marshwood (Patricia Hodge), enters and a grand farce begins. Each of the cast gamely takes on the meat of the plot and so the play plods competently along.

It is with the introduction of Miranda Frayle (Katherine Kingsley), a world-famous film-star engaged to the Countess Marshwood’s son Nigel that the wit becomes a little more biting as Coward begins to show his teeth.

The house is a microcosm of the class system, with each guest and staff member shelved neatly with no room to move. Frayle does not belong to the system, but nor is she above it. In this neat little land of which she wishes to become ruler, she is only as glamorous as her roots, which stretch in directions one may never have thought.

Each of the cast perform well, however particular mention must be made of Patricia Hodge, who stole every scene and carried the show as the matriarch who may (or may not) be monstrous.

Also worthy of mention is Rory Bremner as Crestwell the butler, in his first stage role, who had members of the audience in fits with his snide witticisms. The set design must also be commended, for both admirable attention to detail and a commitment to authenticity.

Thus, despite occasional questionable directorial decisions, Relative Values is certainly a very enjoyable experience as a whole.