As perky as they come, this sparkling concoction, adroitly directed by Ross Gumbley, is whipped up from slick quips and a screwball romantic plot line in equal parts. As in the best cocktails, the blend is smoothly balanced and the result is a heady experience.

If you wanted something deeper and more meaningful, you could easily add ‘love conquers all’ and ‘a plea for understanding in a mad world’.

Although his shaping and characters could come straight from a thirties or forties Hollywood romp, playwright Richard Huber acknowledges also his homage to the ‘incomparable Miss Hepburn’, her style and dedication which so forcefully challenged existing ideas about women and acting.

Set alongside much contemporary writing which has so little faith in humanity, the result is more than classy banter and outrageous situations. There is a curious and appealing innocence about it all and a gentle plug for the dignity of hard work. Well it is a romance.

For a start it’s determinedly a two hander, so that we encounter all developments through poor little rich girl Gloria Lord and one Jimmy, a writer who works on the side as a waiter for the wealthy while he is completing his highly coloured novel. It is the determined Gloria who makes the running but Jimmy’s eventual capitulation, after a series of cuts and capers, rounds out the plot very neatly. 

In the style of the genre, almost every exchange is delivered as ammunition and at lightning speed, with the combatants as decided in their opinions as the prevailing black and white gear they wear. Would it matter then if the audience had no prior knowledge of Hepburn and her great contemporaries or is this piece a glorious folly, an indulgence of sorts? A resounding answer came in united and lasting applause of the opening night punters who clearly caught the spirit and ingenuity of the play and relished every minute of it.

In the intimate space of The Forge, production elements are hugely important. The wit and classy style of writer and director are carried through in Harold Moot’s versatile jetty, appropriately lit and hazed by Brendan Albrey. Deborah Ward’s costumes are a delight in themselves, running the range from high society party girl to Talulah diner waitress and moody writer gear. All-important transition sound and ambience are well covered by Josh Major.

The characters are well set up, then, to draw us into their crazy adversarial world and who could complete the team better than the lustrous Amy Straker as Gloria and Keith Adams as the poor writer whose heart she captured long ago? Their zestful exchanges demand verbal, mental and physical dexterity. They deliver with ease, establishing two highly engaging and appealing roles.

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