The seemingly trivial matter of five shillings and a 13-year-old boy, fictionalised in Terence Rattigan’s satire is, in fact, of great interest thanks to an excellent cast under Rachel Kavanaugh’s skilfull direction.

Aden Gillet, in particular, stood out for endowing spiky, elder statesman-like father Arthur with disarming compassion and sensitivity as he takes the tenet of "let right be done" to its utmost level, bringing his entire family to the brink of ruin in the process.

Meanwhile, Dorothea Myer-Bennett’s suffragette Catherine is a force to be reckoned with, battling the soulless oligarchy and sacrificing her heart to the seemingly hopeless cause of her baby brother Ronnie, played with suitable wimpishness by Misha Butler.

“He has a way of looking at me through his monocle that shrivels me up,” says Catherine of legal eagle Sir Robert Morton at the beginning of the piece. It is to Timothy Watson’s credit that he is able to take what seems a two-dimensional pompous moustachioed character and allow it to grow, eventually becoming almost human by the end of the play. “Isn’t it about time you abandoned the lost cause of women’s suffrage?” he asks Catherine, to the audience’s delight.

Tessa Peake-Jones is robustly wry as Grace, mother to said Boy, watching with vague disdain as her husband puts her comfort on the line by funding his cause through the House of Commons, no less.

Don’t let the chintzy set put you off. This is no front-parlour floozy. Despite the conventional setting and costumes, it contains well-crafted dialogue, layers of subtlety and a fair sprinkling of humour. All of which add up to a "proper play", and an experience that is rewarding, thought-provoking and highly entertaining.