By Joy Watters at Pitlochry Festival Theatre

THERE ARE farces, and then there are farces by Alan Bennett.

This is one of his early works, first performed in 1973, which combines the attitudes of the permissive society and the conventions of farce to make a few points amidst the dropping of trousers and chasing of well-endowed young women.

The opening night’s audience at Pitlochry loved it—roaring their approval throughout as the cast worked their socks, trousers, shirts and bras off to make it work.

Director Ben Twist believes it is a play about death and how we avoid thinking about it.

In this case, the characters busy themselves lusting and ignore a man who keeps trying to commit suicide in their midst.

In the legal sense habeas corpus means you must have the body, and in this setting the body is all important.

A busty young blonde in the mandatory 1970s white boots is the object of lust, a flat-chested woman feels her life is a ruin with nothing to look forward to, a doctor—small in stature—is especially sensitive to remarks about his height.

Set in the family home, Arthur is a GP in his mid-50s pursuing young patients, while wife Muriel is a stately galleon of a woman, all sexual longing with a whiff of Hyacinth Bouquet.

Arthur’s unmarried sister just wants to have breasts and buys a pair by post, while rounding off the family is the misshapen spotty son.

Added to this the pompous head of the BMA, Sir Percy Shorter, a pervy vicar, a travelling salesman and the would-be suicide.

The action is narrated by charlady Mrs Swabb, a wise old bird given full rein by Richard Addison.

The delightful rhyming couplets, bringing comfort and support to all, and another layer to the piece that works on various levels.

Set through a proscenium arch with back projection, including the spikes of a heart-beat and the end of the pier, it is a classy piece of design by Ken Harrison.

It creates the feeling of looking back into the past, and in a sense Habeas Corpus is a snapshot of society 30-40 years ago, while it can also simply be viewed as a farce, enhanced by Bennett’s wit and social commentary.