Cook's role was a demanding one as he was on stage the whole time, twice having to deliver long speeches at breakneck speed - no mean feat with comic timing involved.

Add Michael Gill (Dick) and Andrew Marsden (Harry) to the mix and this fast-paced farce quickly became a hysterical mayhem.

The audience needed all its wits to keep up with the twists and turns of the plot as one impossible situation led into another as Tom strove to keep his wife Linda (Janet Spooner), Constable Downs (Matthew Parker) and Mrs Potter (Marion Reynolds) from discovering "the truth" of the tale.

Michael Gill's attempts as an interpreter for Katerina (Emma Winslow) and Andreas (Kenneth Marshall) were extremely well done.

Both Emma and Kenneth had to speak in Kosovan the whole way through – no mean feat. Janet Spooner played a very convincingly long-suffering wife and Marion Reynolds the very proper Mrs Potter. Matthew Parker played a solid policeman, more concerned with finding a lost tax disc than tax evasion, and Francis Power a very sinister Boris.

Tom, Dick and Harry ticks all the boxes for great farce - running joke, mistaken identity, doors opening and closing with precision timing plus a lovely set with great attention to detail. There was a neat trick with a lemon and a very frantic sign language sequence.

Full marks to Simon Harbrow (director) and his team for an extremely uplifting performance in these doom laden times. Everyone coming out of the theatre had a smile on their face. In fact, some people commented that they were exhausted with laughing.

- THE casting read through date for Deliver Us From Evil - a Midsomer-style murder mystery which will be staged at the Hippodrome Theatre by TAODS from March 4 to 7, 2009 - will be held this weekend.

The read-through will be held on Sunday, November 9, at the theatre, which is in Halifax Road, Todmorden, at 7.30 pm. The bar will be open and all are welcome, including newcomers. Those interested can call Justine on telephone 07970857258 for more details.