Riverside Drama Company celebrates its 10^th anniversary this week with a production of Alan Ayckbourn’s hilarious and thought-provoking comedy Comic Potential.

With a cast of 18, the play is set in a TV studio in the near future, where a director (an alcoholic has-been) and his female assistants (who are also a couple) are making a depressingly familiar daytime soap opera.

The difference is tat they are using actoids – robots programmed to act – and there are no scriptwriters.  Into this situation comes the idealistic Adam, nephew of the millionaire station owner, who wants to write comedy of the quality that Chaplin and Keaton once embodied.

Suddenly, custard pies, comedy trips and double takes are back on the slapstick comedy menu!

But when Adam falls in love with Jacie Triplethree (JC333), one of the actoids on the show, everything is turned upside down – as Jacie grows more human and the line between actoid and human narrows.

Things really explode when the pair run off together to face the outside world and experience the obvious problems t will bring them as a couple.

Jacie is played by Liz O’Hara with John Lomas as Adam.  Pat Tuffin takes on the role of burned-out director Chandler Tate and Janet Bradbery is sanctimonious regional director Carla Pepperbloom.

The show’s director, Martin Holtom, also pops up on stage in a smaller role.

More details on the show and the group at www.riversidedrama.com.