Lust Theatre Royal, Haymarket - 1993

Starring: Horner - Denis Lawson Quack - Paul Leonard Sir Jasper - Anthony Dawes Margery - Sophie Aldred Pinchwife - Julian Curry Story: Originally written as "The Country Wife" by William Wycherley in 1675.  Very controversial in its time, the play is based around the scoundrel Horner and his plan to pretend that he has suffered castration in order to gain entry to many of the local wives'  bedrooms.  This is one of Denis' best-known parts which he took to America in 1995.

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Reviews: "...it has a pop-rock score and a performance of tremendous central energy and charm from Denis Lawson as Horner, the likely lad who feigns a castration in order to ally the suspicions of all the husbands he is intent on cuckolding. ...This is a small-scale treat, a rare mix of bedroom farce and Mermaid singalong, and it only really works when Lawson, a comic genius in the best Broadway tradition of the late Ray Bolger, is steering an already manic plot into owrdrive. ..." -..Sheridan Morley, Spectator ";..The evening's secret weapon is Denis Lawson, who giws his best performance since Mr Cinders as the insatiable Horner. No Don Juan figure this, but a comic buffoon who hilariously falls \4ctim to his own joke. ..." Lyn Gardner, The Guardian "...Denis Lawson's roguish Homer has just the right air of mock innocence that allows him to get away with the amorous equivalent of murder. His trilling duet behind closed four-poster bed curtains with Sophie Aldred's deliciously pert Margery is a comic delight as they hit the top notes in an operatic climax. There is also the unexpected bonus of glimpsing Mr Lawson's bottom, which I found most acceptable but which my husband cruelly said wobbled. There's no pleasing some purists." Maureen Paton, Daily Express "...There is also a wonderful part in Horner. Here he is played by Denis Lawson as a superbly handsome, romantic-looking Don Juan with long flowing locks and tremendous physical agility. Lawson can sing as well: notice his 'I live for low'. Yet this is not a pretentious show. In the era of the spectacular, it comes as a pleasant treat that the most extensive and perhaps the most expensiw prop is simply a large four-poster bed. Lawson sings in it, swings on the horizontal bar and, of course, is caught in it. There is a marvellous \4gnette when hanging from the bar, his trousers just being removed by Lady Fidget, the couple is surprised by a potentially jealous husband. Almost with one bound, at least of the imagination, he is free. ..." Malcolm Rutherford, Financial limes "...The great joy of the production is Denis Lawson who makes Homer the cuckolder, look like an ageing pop star determined to go out with a bang. With all the focus and controlled energy of a brilliant comic actor, he tries to convince his male rivals of the pleasures of celibacy while his eyes and hands stray to the lubricious beauty cleaning the table in front of him. ..." Jane Edwards, Time Out