The title of Richard Bean's thinking man's farce contains a clue to its plot. Sensationally misguided MEP Philip Wardrobe (James Fleet) is holed up in a Strasbourg hotel awaiting a stream of officials and his fiancee, who he hopes to impregnate with the help of some iced water.

His reproductive drive is interrupted by the arrival of the sex-crazed Beatrice Renard, played rather coyly by Karen Drury. Other characters then crop up at predictably inconvenient times, such as the dour Frau Flugelhammerlein, lovably portrayed by the imposing Carol Macready.

Ken Bones steals the show with his immaculate timing as taciturn Yorkshire pig farmer MEP Eddie Fredericks and there are plenty of farcical near misses, double-entendres and door slammings throughout.

If that sounds a bit Oops-I-Lost-My-Trousers-like, fear not. Bean's quips are underpinned by a serious intellect and his plot contains enough twists and knots to exercise anyone's brain.

It's even pretty topical. "The only time I felt I'd really got somewhere was in '97, when I managed to claim more expenses than Keith Vaz," bemoans Wardrobe, prior to telling his assistant to put in a claim for the engagement ring with which he plans to propose to Nicola Daws (Carla Mendonca).

A user-friendly piece of fun from the pen of someone who knows exactly which buttons to press.

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