THIS is high-paced, madcap, slapstick comedy, which never lets up from beginning to end.

Animal Crackers is a cult Marx Brothers classic, and any student of comedy would be a fool not to see this show.

For it is a truly breathtaking production of such speed and vitality and leaves the cynical reviewer believing there is a God after all.

The film Animal Crackers was released in Britain in 1931 and provided the prototype for all the films of madness and mayhem that followed. It is actually a satire on the cultural pretensions of New York society, but it also had the hallmark of the Marx Brothers' universal appeal.

At the Royal Exchange Ben Keaton is simply magnificent as Groucho Marx playing Captain Spalding, the pivotal character for the humour. Marx's one-liners and Keaton's ad-libs punctuate his entire performance.

And there are other superb contributions, notably from Jean Challis as Mrs Rittenhouse, and Sarah Redmond as her daughter. Redmond's high point is her double act with Toby Sedgwick in the role of The Professor (Harpo Marx) when she sings opera. Sedwick's comic miming skills are simply stupendous. Joe Alessi played the role of Emmanuel Ravelli, which was originally played by Chico Marx was also outstanding, and dealt with some of Keaton's ad-libs extremely well. Nick Jackson

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