Ghosts, murder and troubled marriage are the themes of this undeservedly neglected Coward comedy - which makes it an excellent complement to Hamlet, with which English Rep are alternating it for the next two weeks in the University Parks.

Charles and Ruth, a thoroughly modern couple, invite medium Madame Arcati to dinner-and-seance in order to gather local colour for Charles's forthcoming book. Unfortunately, the seance works only too well and results in the materialisation of Charles's first wife Elvira - visible only to him, and with some malevolent plans of her own.

This is one of the best of Coward's plays, and because it's about tangled relationships instead of vanished social mores, it is one of the least dated. While the central concept is thought-provoking - how nice would it actually be to have the longed-for return of a deceased loved one into one's reshuffled life? - the joy of it lies in the brilliant dialogue, full of deliciously nasty insults and glittering cynicism.

English Rep present it as a lively, fast-moving farce, perhaps going overboard a little with some of the opportunities for hamming, but controlling things beautifully where it counts - in the exquisitely biting fight scenes among the reluctant ménage à troi.

Charlotte Ellen is agreeably petulant as the seductive, irresponsible Elvira. Peter Rae handles the central character Charles very skillfully, keeping it light and understated all through so that his moments of breakdown have real force. Helen Bang is powerfully daffy as Madame Arcati, and Rachel Waring brings sufficient presence to the tiny part of the maid to make me keen to return to see her as Hamlet.

This production is, however, secured by Nina Bright as second wife Ruth. This is unusual - Ruth has a lot of stage time but is usually too boringly practical a character to hold centre stage next to Arcati and Elvira. But Bright, from her drawling flippancy when getting ready for dinner in the first scene to her later barely controlled and then explosive rage, displays a comic timing and an inner development of character that makes Ruth’s experience the strongest part of the show.

This was the very first performance, and I learned that the company was contending heroically with some serious issues, including lack of dress rehearsal and a power cut caused by nearby building works. You wouldn't have known this from the performances. As with any outdoor production, surrounding noise may continue to be a bother, especially at matinees, but the strong performances and wonderfully debonair script certainly enabled me to suspend my disbelief. Well worth seeing.