Civil Rogues @ Pleasance Courtyard

The Pleasance’s Civil Rogues is an old-fashioned comedy with old-fashioned jokes and old-fashioned characters, set at the time of Cromwell’s old-fashioned theatre ban. Men are in dresses, women in blindfolds, people hide in trunks, identities and intentions are mistaken, and to top it all off, there is a play-within-a-play.

The play’s more farcical side is convincing if also somewhat unsurprising, but its grander theme, the importance of theatre under difficult circumstances feels easy and self-congratulatory. When it offers a reason to praise the audience for slyly finding their way up the staircase through a back alley into the Pleasance Two theatre, it’s quite entertaining. But since Civil Rogues has no daring features, a monologue on the bravery of actors feels somewhat out of place.

The range of acting skills among the extensive cast is quite staggering, and some quips are delivered with toe-curling levels of awkwardness. But some lines, like shouting: "I have the pox!" to repel a rather touchy feely suitor – only to be disappointed by his eager: "So do I!" – are well-timed and witty.