So it is no surprise to find that the Company of Ten has all but sold out for its current production of Ayckbourn's Season's Greetings which runs at the Abbey Theatre in St Albans until Saturday (17 November).
Therefore it follows that it would not have to be particularly good to ensure revenue - but in actual fact it is very good indeed.
Season's Greetings is the type of Ayckbourn play which strikes a chord with everyone in the audience, particularly as Christmas is an especially fraught time for families.
So the mixture of warring husbands and wives, mad uncles, over-large meals and lashings of alcohol gives a pretty clear indication of what is to follow.
It is all played out on a clever set which gives the impression of a large family home on a standard-size stage and allows scenes in be played out in different rooms.
The scene is a family Christmas where the gadget-mad Neville and his put-upon wife Belinda are hosting fellow husband and wife Eddie and Pattie, Neville's sister Phyllis and her husband Bernard, the jingoistic Uncle Harvey and Belinda's repressed sister Rachel.
Into this unholy mix comes unsuspecting author Clive - and what ensues is a mixture of high comedy and farce.
In five separate scenes, Christmas gradually deteriorates, helped by some riotous moments including Bernard's annual puppet show - a dream scene for the brilliant John Pyke - the unrequited passion of Clive and Belinda and Uncle Harvey's totally mad moment.
Peter Jeffreys is completely believable as Uncle Harvey, from the moment we meet him in front of the TV to his final faux pas, and Julie Grant is equally at home as the insecure Rachel.
Richard Hammond as Neville is a hoot, particularly when the long-suffering Belinda, a fine performance from Anna Macleod, tries to talk to him about their relationship while he is trying to repair a gadget.
Chloe-Jane Dyson as the pregnant Pattie and her lazy husband Eddie, played by Will Franklin, are a good pairing while Beverley Robley as Phyllis is a fine foil to Bernard.
But it is Ian Rowe as Clive, the catalyst in everything which happens, who steals the show whenever he is on stage. From his Brummie accent to his remarkable politeness in the face of total mayhem, he is first-rate.
Director Roger Scales must be delighted with the production and even though there were a few technical hitches on Monday night - what did happen to the snowstorm? - it did not detract from an excellent night out.
Any remaining tickets for Season's Greetings can be obtained from the Abbey Theatre box office on 01727 857861.
MADELEINE BURTON
© Herts Advertiser 2007. Reproduced by permission