No. 13

Prepare to be thoroughly entertained...
Out of Order by Ray Cooney (listed as No. 13) is a masterclass in modern farce – a time-honoured favourite among audiences, retaining its hilarity and zest precisely because one never quite knows what twist of fate awaits the characters next.
What begins as an apparently innocent affair between a junior minister and his boss’s secretary teeters constantly on the brink of scandal – and potentially even murder. The overriding objective? To ensure that no hidden truth is ever revealed. After all, no one present has the slightest interest in transparency.
The central figure in this whirlwind is the unassuming George Pigden, secretary to the minister, who – much to everyone’s surprise, including his own – finds himself at the heart of the chaos. Over the course of one endlessly eventful night, George is forced to assume a series of ever-more absurd guises: a young lover, a lecherous rogue, even a would-be assassin. He must fend off enraged husbands, frantic women, and – most inconveniently – contend with the lifeless body of a retired detective wedged awkwardly in a window frame. A corpse which, it must be said... well, we shan’t spoil the surprise.
And that’s only the beginning. Events unravel at breakneck speed, with dazzling theatricality, razor-sharp dialogue, and moments of side-splitting absurdity that culminate in an atmosphere of pure comic delight.
This is theatre at its most exuberant – reminding us of the joy of laughing at ourselves, of recognising our follies, and of acknowledging that a lie, no matter how noble the intent, is still a lie. And betrayal – by any name – remains betrayal.
As for No. 13... it has absolutely nothing to do with it. Or does it?