Went to this after the praise on the last forum, and can only concur
The jokes concerning French language went over my head, but the drama between the two men over Diana is so funny, with a few gasps here and there
The two men are absolute doofuses and I can't wait for Diana to get her comeuppance
Thanks for the heads-up. I hadn't realised this was touring. I saw a BBC TV version in the mid-70s (with Anthony Andrews, if memory serves) and thought it was hilarious. Have always wondered if it would as funny forty years on.
www.ett.org.uk/productions/86/french-without-tears - Exeter, Harrogate, Barnstaple, Cheltenham, Doncaster, Oldham, Coventry, Poole, and Huddersfield. And it's at the Orange Tree until the end of July.
French Without Tears is two hours and fifteen minutes.
Caught it on Wednesday night. Yes the play is a bit creaky but was brought to life well and it was well served by the fairly intimate nature of the Orange Tree.
Main problem with this is how infantilised the male characters (excluding the peripheral and older French teacher) are. Huddling in groups and talking excitedly about how scared they are of the vampish young seductress... is that how guys were in the 1930's or is that a projection of Rattigan's personal relationship with women or did he not simply have a clue?
Anyway, if you can ignore that faintly ridiculous premise there's a good evening's entertainment here. A little knowledge of French does help.