The process of parading your offspring to the great and good over a number of high-profile dances, all in the hope of catching the eye of a rich or titled suitor, was something of a rite of passage for the elite in the early half of the 20th century.

The Reluctant Debutante, William Douglas Home’s romantic comedy playing at Theatre Royal Brighton from Monday, takes a wry look at one family’s induction to the debutante scene in 1955.

“The big debutante dance was the Queen Charlotte’s Ball, where girls of age and their families would head to London, dressed to the nines, and attend numerous dances before being taken to Buckingham Palace to meet the Queen,” says director and actor Belinda Lang.

“These girls would queue all day, most fuelled on champagne to keep them going, and then be asked to perform an intricate curtsy to the Queen. It’s no surprise one famously fell over. I bet she’s never lived it down.”

Starring Jane Asher and Clive Francis as society couple Sheila and Jimmy Broadbent, the play charts the comic events that ensue when daughter Jane has other ideas about “coming out”.

“This poor 18 year-old daughter who likes horses, dogs and the country is uprooted and taken to London to meet boys,” says Belinda.

“She hates it all, and she’s being bullied into it by her mother who feels – as they did in those days – that it’s very important.”

Written and performed just years before the Queen Charlotte’s Ball was abolished in 1958, the play’s tongue-in-cheek social commentary helped break down some stiff attitudes, traditions and beliefs rife throughout the debutante scene.

“It really exposed it all as quite comic. The class that were organising the balls were able to go and laugh at themselves,” says Belinda.

“It packs a bit of a punch in its own way – I don’t think we can underestimate the effects the play had when it came out.”

Belinda also acts in the show – playing one of Sheila’s friends, an overbearing, pushy mother whose daughter Clarissa quite enjoys the glamour and charm of debutante season.

“I think it’s one of the funniest plays ever – it’s got the most wonderful momentum, it just gets more and more surreally daft, but not at the loss of the story,” Belinda says.

“There’s a certain mad touch to the writing. It’s sophisticated in its own way and the rhythms are slightly dotty at times.”

Having made her acting debut in 1980, it was the role of Bill Porter in BBC sitcom 2Point4Children that propelled Belinda into the nation’s conciousness. Running for nearly a decade, the show was an unexpected hit.

“The head of the BBC comedy said it had the ‘nudge’ factor – people might not actually guffaw out loud at it, but would elbow each other when the funny bits came on,” says Belinda.

“It was a slow burner, and it just grew. You’re never really terribly aware its happening until it’s all over.”

Having loved the excitement of appearing before a live audience, Belinda created Haig-Lang Productions alongside fellow actor David Haig in 2004. Hugely successful tours of My Boy Jack and Private Lives soon followed, with Belinda taking time off the stage to direct and produce.

“I still love acting, but it’s quite fun to have control of that toy box,” she laughs. “Usually I’m one of the toys.”