If there's one thing the British are supremely good at, it's celebrating our talent for underachievement. Think of all those moments when the woeful underdogs spectacularly pull together in injury time - the pub team from Up 'n' Under coming within a whisker of victory; the colliery band in Brassed Off triumphing at the Royal Albert Hall; the hapless strippers from Sheffield going the Full Monty.
Richard Harris's tap-class comedy set a template for all these works. The tale of how the members of a church hall evening class transform themselves from a herd of hippos into a team of svelte, top-hatted troupers is a predictable one, but it taps into our instinctive love of anyone prepared to have a go.
Harris's play endures because it is a brilliant display of group dynamics and disgrace under pressure. As the class slowly comes together as a team, Harris hints at how they are falling apart as individuals. The weekly class is a temporary refuge from a world blighted by domestic violence, poverty and low self-esteem. It's heartbreaking to watch the group's attempts at putting on the Ritz when you know most of them have enough trouble putting on the tea.
Sue Wilson's revival - with choreography of both the fleet and flat-footed variety from Beverley Edmunds - is a perfectly gauged example of fine, ensemble playing. Beth Tuckey quivers with exasperation as the group's teacher, but cuts loose in an unguarded moment when her frustrations as a failed former chorus girl find expression in the full Fosse. And a special bravery award must go to Geoffrey Abbott as the token bloke.
As one old Broadway lyric goes: "If a sky-load of crap should fall in your lap/ Just tap all your troubles away."
· Until August 14. Box office: 01782 717962.
