Alan Ayckbourn’s 2001 trilogy, ‘Damsels in Distress’ was specifically written for repertory theatre. Three plays, one set and seven varying characters in each, providing actors with a range of roles; a perfect choice for the Sidmouth Summer Play Festival.

The subject matter of ‘GamePlan’ is not typical Ayckbourn; in order to help her mother out of financial difficulties, 16 year old Sorrel sets herself up as a prostitute at home while Mum, Lynette, is working. Persuading her best friend to act as her maid, things don’t go quite as planned.

The sombre tone of the first scenes is somewhat uncomfortable; there are comic moments, but this is Ayckbourn in dark mode. The mood changes radically as Sorrel entertains her first client, Leo and chaos ensues.

At the heart of the play is the relationship between Lynette and her daughter; Claire Louise Amias, in the most serious role of the play, is excellent and Liv Koplick is terrific as the feisty, moody, teenager Sorrel; the two are completely believable as parent and child. Laura Mead, as Sorrel’s friend Kelly, provides many of the comedy moments throughout and, at times, appears to be channelling the great Barbara Windsor as she totters about on high heels – a tremendous debut at the Festival.

James Pellow offers a masterclass in comic acting as Leo – his speech about his wife and dry-cleaning business is sublimely hilarious. Dominic McChesney creates a wonderfully over-the-top police officer with Julia Main, joyfully bonkers as the Bible-quoting WPC. The tiny role of the magazine reporter is a strange one, but Owen Landon, as always, gives it everything.

Director, Anton Tweedale, creates a production which is just about impossible to fault; it is slick, pacey and, wherever the script allows, very funny. Andrew Beckett’s clever set design is a cracker - another master craftsman at work.

‘GamePlan’ is an intriguing piece; it feels uneven and doesn’t know what it is meant to be – Comedy? Drama? Tragedy? Thriller? Social Commentary? – maybe all of these. It isn’t a particularly likeable play in some ways, but when a production is this good it is so worth seeing.

The play runs until 15 July and tickets are available at www.manorpavilion.com. Next week the Alan Ayckbourn trilogy continues with ‘FlatSpin’ from 17-22 July.