As a play, The Long Weekend? by Norm Foster, is a bit light for my personal tastes but, to quote the two female characters reassuring the insecure and awkward Roger in separate dialogues, it is ?more than adequate? ? not unsatisfying and certainly worth seeing.

The light comedy takes place in the country home of Max and Wynn Trueman, a successful trial lawyer and his psychologist wife, opened at Daylesford Theatre on Monday night.

The Truemans have invited their friends, Roger and Abby Nash to spend a weekend with them. Neurotic Roger, a former mathematics teacher is half way through his first draft of a screenplay and his wife owns a clothing store. The Truemans are obviously better off than their hosts and it is the women who are friends.

The husbands loathe each other and reluctantly tolerate these get-togethers. The women have issues between them as well.

Predictably, there are some underlying attractions, ruses and deceptions.

The set was excellent. I was especially impressed by the way it utilised stairs and lighting to suggest more rooms. I found the acting outstanding, the professional cast blending with ease.

Janet Monid was particularly natural as Abby. Playwright Norm Foster played the slightly anal Max Truman and had some of the best lines.

Leisa Way was delightful as the somewhat manipulative and gratingly analytical Wynn, my favourite character in terms of the writing.

David Nairn?s expansive and gesticulating portrayal of Roger, initially seemed to be played out a bit too much to the audience but by the midpoint I was used to it and it just seemed like a slightly sitcom character quirk.

The characters in this play are well-drawn and the dialogue clever. Amusing entertainment with few belly laughs, most of the humour is achieved by the audience being aware of all of the subterfuge and watching the machinations of some characters preempted by others.

It is a bit of a farce but gentler than the madcap British variety we are used to seeing here. There are few surprises and no real deviations from formula but the play is well crafted.

It revels in language and I found that a refreshing indulgence. The repeated gag of finding synonyms for ?placate?, the word that temporarily derailed Roger?s screenplay is hilarious to me.

The sniping and innuendo employed by the men, especially the persnickity Max, also reveal the writer?s love of language.

On Monday night there were a few moments in the first act that seemed slightly forced but perhaps it was just opening night adrenaline.

The second act was much more natural in execution with a noticeably faster pace. Overall I found ?The Long Weekend? entertaining, witty and very well acted.

The clever comedy runs through July 10th.