*** Given the right material -- and this time they have got it hilariously right -- Jabulani Repertory Company has proved that the idea of year-round repertory is a viable reality for Bermuda. Having attracted some of the Island's most talented actors and directors, Jabulani, with a necessary eye on the box-office, has opted for an admittedly `safe' fare of comedies and thrillers that appeal to visitors and residents alike.

The current season ends this week with one of their best productions yet, a romping yet always witty farce called `There Goes the Bride.' Written by those British masters of comedy, Ray Cooney and John Chapman, it has all the necessary ingredients for successful farce -- ordinary people, landed in situations that become more ludicrous by the minute. There is a refreshing twist in this admittedly flimsy plot in that a knock on the head hurls an erstwhile staid hero into the realms of romantic hallucination.

Possibly borrowed from the play `Harvey' and immortalised on film by James Stewart, whose best friend was an invisible six-foot rabbit, the farcial possibilities of this format are obvious. In this play, only Timothy Westerby can see the gorgeously mad-cap, Charleston-dancing, 1920's flapper (Nikki Durrant) who materialises from behind the sofa. The timing for this bizarre turn of events could hardly be more inconvenient, for this is his daughter's wedding day and the family are in no mood to be amused by father's apparent descent into a mad fit that has him dancing with non-existent partners and conducting flirtatious conversations with the thin air. Add to this, an elderly but spry father-in-law whose increasing deafness multiplies the merry round of misunderstandings, all contained in a clever script, delivered by an excellent cast, and you have a production that bears comparison with similar rep companies overseas.

In a misguided effort to localise this comedy, Jabulani have transported the very English concept and setting of the play to Bermuda, obviously hoping that the odd reference to Island place-names would do the trick: it doesn't, and the end result tends to irritate rather than advance a sense of immediacy and topicality, which was presumably the intention; this well written play is in no need of any tinkering.

Danjou Anderson's stiff British accent, which sounds a little forced as the play opens, proves to be an asset, as his Mr. Westerby role lurches into the realm of fantasy and hectic melodrama: a fine performance that confirms this professionally trained actor as one of Bermuda's best.

Carol Birch, as his wife, Ursula, is -- in what is becoming almost a signature role for this talented actress -- the epitome of the perfect British housewife who suffers the slings and arrows of domesticity with wry and long-suffering humour.

There is a suspicion of type-casting, too, for Annette Hallett who, as Ursula's mother, repeats former successes in the guise of sour, snappishly ageing womanhood; she gets some of the best one-liners of the play, and uses them to devastating effect. It's almost worth the price of a ticket just to see her decked out in her wedding garb of drooping blue, festooned with a floppy, hot-pink bow, all topped off with a giant purple feather in her hat.

Victoria Waddington makes a strong farewell stage appearance before returning home to the UK, as the frettish and rather spoilt young bride who resorts to stamping her foot and running off to her room weeping, as daddy's increasingly strange behaviour threatens her big day. Ms Waddington, who is also professionally trained, has a natural flair for comedy. She will be greatly missed.

Thomas Saunders, fast becoming one of our most accomplished actors, takes on the role of Bill Shorter. World-wearily sartorial in morning dress, he gives a marvellously laconic display of haughty sarcasm as he witnesses his business partner and friend succumb to the oddities of apparent madness.

Making his debut on the Bermuda stage -- but, hopefully, not his last -- is Alastair Vartan, a real thespian `find' who, as Ursula's hard of hearing and decidedly impish father, carries this comedy to the heights, and, more importantly, helps to hold it there: with the disconcerting honesty of old age and seeming imperturbality to the general irritation displayed by others at his deafness, Vartan plays this plum role with obvious, but understated delight.

Geoff Yeomans, who only burst upon the comedy scene last year in the BMDS `Mother Goose' pantomime, is also a natural comedian, using his rich, Yorkshire accent to hilarious effect as the no-nonsense `hard as brass' northerner who is less than enthralled by the prospect of his son marrying into what he sees as an alarmingly strange family.

Director Ian Burch's experienced and sure touch never falters in this convoluted but highly enjoyable comedy.

Those who are inclined to moan that "there's nothing to do in Bermuda'' should make a point of seeing this play before it closes on Saturday night. At the very least, it guarantees an evening of non-stop laughter, in itself something of a rarity in Bermuda.

PATRICIA CALNAN