Out of Order

In our 30th year of entertainment, Picton Theatre Group proudly presents Out of Order an outrageously funny British farce written by Ray Cooney. This hilarious farce won the prestigious Olivier Award for Best Comedy in 1993. A little about the play: Richard Willey, a Labour Junior Minister, plans, under the cover of an all-night Commons sitting, to spend the night in Suite 648 at the four star Westminster Hotel, London, with Jane Worthington, one of the opposition party's junior secretaries. So the seeds are sown (or in Richard's case, not) for this hilarious Ray Cooney farce. Things start to go disastrously wrong early on; when expecting only to handle Jane's body, Richard (or Dickie as he likes Jane to call him) discovers the body of a man trapped in the suite's unreliable sash window. Desperately trying to get out of what has suddenly become an extremely sticky situation, Richard summons his trusty Parliamentary private secretary, George Pigden, to the Hotel to sort things out. The play boasts the typical assortment of stereotypical farce characters, such as a pompous interfering Hotel Manager, a sly old hotel waiter who’s seen it all before and knows he can earn hush money, and a Maid of suspect Mediterranean origin who has little command of the English Language. With their help and a few other surprises, things go from bad to worse. "It's a very silly, very funny script," Helen Elsworthy said. "We do put a little warning on it; it's a little bit naughty. But mostly it's British farce, so it's just big, silly fun." Out of Order is the third Cooney comedy Helen has directed over the years for Picton Theatre Group, making it the perfect choice to kick off the Group’s 30th Year Anniversary Season. Do not miss this naughty romp from the group that brought us the sell-out comedy Cosi in 2005. Soak in the atmosphere of the Historic Picton Theatre and enjoy the Picton Theatre Group’s famous Dinner Show! Performance dates: Saturday evenings 22nd, 29th April, 6th, 13th, 20th May at the Picton Theatre (Wollondilly Shire Hall), Menangle Street, Picton Dinner & Show: 6:30pm Adult $40 / Concession $35 Show Only: 8:00pm Adult $25 / Concession $20 * prices include GST & booking fee Bookings at Wollondilly Tourist Office tel: 02 4677 3962 So get a table of your friends together, it’s BYO so you can bring your favourite wine, and come see the only dinner & show package run in the Macarthur area.