A very silly rehearsal

Enter two splendid outsiders to the world of the Helliwells and their friends. The Reverend Clement Mercer is the hapless cleric ("although you're not a member of my congregation") who comes to offer "any help I can" in a pastoral capacity; and the splendid Miss Lottie Grady is "a woman" (not, you note, "a lady") whose main function seems to be to wreak havoc.

The introduction of the totally different dynamic of these characters is a breath of fresh air to the audience, who have been getting drawn further and further into the world of our six respectable folk; and Barry and Judi had rather the same effect on their fellow actors. The flummoxed minister and the brazen hussy took us by storm, and the resulting discussions about staging, inappropriate behaviour involving Barry's leg and (separately, I hasten to add) Judi's cleavage set off one of those episodes of giggles that, once started, is very hard to stop...

You'll find further silly images like these on the Rehearsal Photos tab. 

Every so often, I love to be reminded that there's a very good reason for it being called a play.