AS witty as Wilde, as well-crafted as Rattigan and as unorthodox as Pinter, Entertaining Mr Sloane is a true stage classic and it opens at Hereford's Courtyard tonight.

Directed by Jonathan Stone and produced by the same team behind Abigail's Party and Macbeth, Entertaining Mr Sloane is a subversively stylish black comedy written by Joe Orton at the beginning of his tragically short writing career.

The plot revolves around the handsome young Mr Sloane who is invited by landlady Kath to stay at her home as a boarder. Kath's doddering old father is not so excited by his residence while her eccentric brother has his own reasons to resent the move. Secrets tumble out as the farce races towards a finale as surprising and violent as any written for the theatre.

"Entertaining Mr Sloane was first performed thirty eight years ago," said Jonathan Stone. "It scandalised the British public then and will probably raise a few eyebrows in Hereford."

"It is very much the product of its time", continued Jonathan. "The Sixties were really beginning to swing and the cultural norms of post-war Britain were beginning to break down. Entertaining Mr Sloane brilliantly captures the mood of the era and audiences can expect an authentic period feel in this Courtyard production."

The handsome young Mr Sloane is played by Courtyard favourite Jonathan Ball who starred in the venue's productions of West Side Story, Romeo and Juliet and Aladdin in 1999.

Lyndsay Maples electrified audiences as Beverley in Abigail's Party three years ago and returns to play the rampant Kath in this show.

Ken Collard, who is cast as Kath's wealthy businessman brother Ed, recently played an interrogator in the New Theatre Works world premiere of The Sound of a Hammer at the Courtyard. Their grumpy old father is played by local actor Geoff Allcock, a veteran of many amateur and professional productions in the city.

Entertaining Mr Sloane runs for just nine performances until Saturday, June 14. Tickets are available from the box office on 01432 359252.