SPRING! It’s all around, it’s in the air, and it’s very much on stage at the Ilkley Playhouse. Love, romance and all that come with them abound in our forthcoming production of One Slight Hitch.

This happy, funny, joyous comedy by Lewis Black is based around a wedding. The uplifting, humorous twists of the story can’t help but put a smile on your face and make you feel lighter and more spring-like yourself.

Set in 1980s Cincinnati One Slight Hitch is a nostalgic treat to watch, with familiar comic scenes that are will take you back to days of the of Sunday afternoon matinees on TV. Classy comic twists make you feel in safe hands and delight at each new turn. What happens to a seemingly happy couple when the ne’er-do-well ex-boyfriend of the bride-to-be shows up without warning on the morning of their wedding? It’s gentle farce, with tinges of Neil Simon and a good dollop of originality.

Playing the rogue ex-boyfriend is Elliot Benn. Through a bizarre series of events, he comes to be left without clothes and stuck in the bathroom as more chaos descends on the household. Audiences may remember Elliot as Tarzan in Shakespeare in Hollywood, where he appeared in a loin cloth. After One Slight Hitch we’ll see him again in next season’s production of The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, where he plays Mr Tumnus (also with no top on....can anyone see a pattern beginning to emerge?)

The cast and crew are wrapped up in the business of love, both on and off stage. The Playhouse props team are up to their elbows in plaster making fertility statues. The costume department, meanwhile, are wading through acres of bridesmaid dresses; and Cressida Ford, who is playing the bride-to-be Courtney, is making her own wedding gown at home, where her kitchen is sinking under yards of white material, while her dog, eager to help, thinks it’s part of a game-cum-battle. (Our money’s on the dog.)

Lewis Black, the author of One Slight Hitch, is a Grammy-award winning actor/ writer/comedian from New York. Although he is an internationally renowned stand-up comedian, One Slight Hitch is a rounded piece, aiming for more than just laughs. It is a well-crafted piece of theatre that uses familiar but fun stock tools to tell the story of an ordinary suburban family in (comic) crisis.

There is a combination of pathos and joy that adds a deeper and more thoughtful edge to the humour. Themes such as parents living out their dreams through their children and what constitutes “happy ever after” add an underlying seriousness common to much classic humour.

One Slight Hitch runs from May 25 to June 5 (not Sundays).

Also look out for our next Stagefright Comedy Club Night. Edinburgh Festival Previews acts Christian Reilly, Brennan Reece, Dawn Rigby, Jared Shooter and compere Anthony J. Brown will be joining us on June the 4th. Tickets are available now and more about our acts will follow.

Fleapit Cinema returns on June 5 with a showing of the Jazz Age musical, Chicago. Refreshments and an extended interval provide a genteel afternoon's entertainment. Tickets are £5 and include tea and cakes. Doors open 1.30pm for 2pm start.

To book your ticket for One Slight Hitch or any of our events, visit www.ilkleyplayhouse.co.uk or call 01943 609539. You can follow us on Facebook or Twitter for the latest news, reviews and pictures.