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FOR those who fancy some light-hearted farce, 'Nobody's Perfect' at the Chesil Theatre, Winchester, does the job nicely.

It centres on Leonard, a single parent coping with a teenage daughter, Dee Dee, along with his mischievous father, Gus, who is growing old disgracefully.

Leonard's escape is to spend hours tapping away at his laptop, churning out romantic fiction.

Figuring that he might have a better chance of being published if he was a woman, he adopts a female pen name.

However, the strategy backfires when a company, which only markets books by women, picks up on his latest effort.

In many ways, the story from Simon Williams then becomes as predictable as a Tom and Jerry cartoon.

Leonard has to pretend to be his nom-de-plume, adopting a squeaky voice on the telephone, and a floral dress and wig when meeting the publishers.

The farce then becomes more complex, as his father and daughter start to detect his cross-dressing antics.

The ending is also predictable, but this story not about intricate twists and turns, and is simply meant to be a feel-good farce. In that respect, it certainly satisfies, as there are plenty of light-hearted laughs and chuckles.

The performances by the actors certainly help to bring the script to life, aided by Malcolm Brown's direction.

Martin Humphrey tackles the taxing role of Leonard with confidence, and triggered plenty of laughs once the wig and dress appeared.

Graham Cranmer clearly has fun as Gus, who, in the writer's own words, should be in a "Saga borstal".

Beth Wood is also convincing as the sometimes moody, but generally supportive, Dee Dee. Meanwhile, Marina Humphrey also has a good outing as the publisher, Harriet.

'Nobody's Perfect' at the Chesil Theatre, Winchester, runs until Saturday, May 24. Tickets are available at the Theatre Royal box office on 01962 840440.

8:56am Tuesday 20th May 2008

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