Benchtours have been a staple on the Scottish touring scene for well over a decade, wowing their audience with a blend of established and new works all performed with their own unique stamp.

The Emperor's Opera, written by Michael Duke is a farce. Set in a hotel the minister for culture, Grigory Kuligan (Sean Hay), denied sex by his mistress Askiya Stosslova (Rocio Galan), fabricates a little white lie in order to get her into bed. He has discovered a hidden opera, the country's first. Its discovery will bring the rich and famous throughout the globe to reside in her hotel.

And so in the style of good traditional farce for the next 2 hours passage of the play the `little lie´ grows and grows out of all proportion: affairs are discovered, people are shot, trousers are quite literally dropped and the Opera becomes known to the entire country.

Any modern farce is undoubtedly influenced by the genre's luminaries, Moliere and Bennet, and The Emperor's Opera is no different. Duke's script is full of formulaic farcical dialogue, yet this does not detract from an enjoyably amusing play.

The only disappointment in the evening is the lack of a laugh out loud moments, with many of the jokes and physical comedy being merely titter-some.

The acting throughout from a fine ensemble cast could have been more physically over the top, yet there were some excellent moments that stand out above the rest. Rocio Galan gave a wonderful performance, her dee p Spanish tones and physicality crackling full of energy lit up the stage every time she appeared. One of the productions most original aspects was the introduction of a live cellist, who as well as being an integral part of the play, provided some wonderful music mixed in with the onstage action, creating a wonderful juxtaposition to the racing stage performances.

The Emperor's Opera is a good light hearted comedy which will have young, old and all those in between chuckling through out. I can think of many a worse way to spend an evening than with Benchtours.