"Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana."

We trooped off to see the Kenneth Williams extravaganza Stop Messing About last night, and it was hilarious!

Taken from the scripts of his little-known 70s radio show of the same name (the first that Kenneth starred in, as opposed to being one of the players in other people's shows, like Tony Hancock and Kenneth Horne), it was everything we could have expected. Lame jokes, groansome puns, absurd sketches, wonderful characters such as "Sir Inigo Parchmutter, a ninety year old judge", "The Kingston, Surbiton, Wimbledon and District Line Trio" and "Florence McWiddlemore", and typical BBC primness belying a smutty, knowing undercurrent of double entendre.

Among the mayhem, the cast performed their film adaptation "The Dirty Half Dozen" (or "The Smutty Six"), their very own Spaghetti Western (in which much was made of the villain's six-shooter with the mother-of-pearl chasing round the butt... oo-er) and the "Lesser-known Sports Reports" featured the London to Brighton Ballroom Dancing Rally, with a thrilling cross-country Pasadoble and a Minuet up the M25...

It was all superbly acted, of course! Robin Sebastian as Kenneth captured all his mannerisms and pompousness to a "T". Nigel Harrison as Hugh Paddick veered hilariously between Cockney ruffian and Queen of the May, Emma Atkins as Joan Sims was almost exactly like the lady herself at times, and the BBC announcer Douglas Smith was carried off by Charles Armstrong with just the right level of smarm.

Once again we noticed that many in the audience were confused by exactly what they had come to see. Some even left at the interval, complaining that they thought it was going to be a biography of Kenny himself. Where do people get their tickets from? Free with a box of cornflakes? Perhaps they should try and find out about a show before booking?

Anyhow, we all thoroughly enjoyed ourselves - and if you like a tittersome show rather than belly-laughs, hanker for the nostalgia of old radio comedy and are a fan of Round The Horne or even The News Huddlines, then I highly recommend this one!

Stop Messing About website