Playwright and director Cherry Woodhouse has premiered a play to be proud of at Burgess Hill Theatre Club.

In the world of deeply devious mothers trying to wreck a wedding Nicki Plank as the insecure Beth is a dark star among plotters.

Right from her first appearance on stage, with pictures of Jesus decorating the room, Plank evoked the disturbed woman who boasted conversations with God while lying about the romantic background of daughter Clare, well played by Kerri Cooper.

The cast took advantage of snappier second half dialogue to show their ability, not least of all the motor-mouth characters Maggie and daughter Suzi, both given sharp definition and plenty of volume by Lara Weller and Emma Hudson respectively. Matt Mulvay looked both loving and angry as the confused groom Charlie.

Meanwhile the Royal Family-worshipping mother of the groom, Jane, talked to her cherished dead husband, Jo Calderon distilling her anxiety and emotional isolation neatly in the role.

In a witty play full of well-defined characters, the Clare’s Wedding cast only briefly got cold feet in the first half as the dialogue dropped to routine, but Woodhouse’s generally fine writing made sure the play fairly crackled after that.

Four stars