Thornbury Community Theatre found another little gem with its fall production, Running Riot, Thursday, Friday and Saturday.

The local volunteer troupe attracted more than 600 people over the three-night run of the Derek Benfield comedy at the Marsh Street Centre. Advance tickets were sold out for all three shows and there were few door tickets left for last-minutebuyers.

Running Riot is the story of Humphrey Podmore, a meek and mild greengrocer from England who tries to sneak away from his incredibly over-bearing wife, Agnes, for a holiday in France. He arrives to a hero's welcome at L'Auberge Blanche -- a hotel that has seen better days.

It turns out the waving flags and cheering crowd aren't there to welcome him as a representative of Britain's grocery trade. They think he's a runner, a 5,000-metre champion coming to the Olympic Games, happening nearby,

Even before poor Humphrey can settle in, however, Agnes shows up, already on the hunt for her wayward spouse.

Another guest, smart alec Basil Trent, promises to help Humphrey avoid Agnes, but only if Humphrey agrees to go through with the ruse and run in the Olympics. Basil, you see, is a gambler and he's never seen a bet more sure than putting his money on middle-aged, out-of-shape Humphrey to finish dead last. Worse yet, Basil's wager prompts hotel owner Felix -- deeply in debt -- to put the last of his dwindling savings on Humphrey to win the race.

Meanwhile, a fellow competitor -- from one of those former East Bloc countries (the play is set in the mid-1960s) -- hounds him to hand over "ze shtuff" and a beautiful young woman seems intent on seducing him.

And there's the personal trainer, Miss Hacket, who prods and pokes Humphrey and drags him along on forced training runs in a vain effort to get him in shape to win the Olympic gold.

When the real runner shows up, he winds up locked in the wine cellar with Agnes.

"Which one of them are you worried about?" Humphrey asks when Felix points out the indecent possibilities.

When Agnes and the Visitor finally reappear, its obvious they've found the hotel's supply of vino.

The cast consisted of Richard Griffith (as Humphrey), Scott Clock (Basil), Michelle Plummer (as Nicolette, the hotel owner's daughter), Douglas Stevenson (Felix), Irene McLeod (Agnes), Sue Aldcorn (Miss Hacket), Charlotte Tarlo (Pauline), Rob Potter (Bruchik) and Skot Krewenchuk (the Visitor ). Potter directed and Lori Campbell and Aldcorn were producers.

Audience members were full of praise for the cast. The comic highlights were many, from the drunken romancing of Agnes and the Visitor (a scene that triggered applause at each performance) to Basil's efforts to regain his missing trousers to Bruchik's attempts to pass a secret code phrase to Humphrey. Other funny stuff include the incredibly uncomfortable pose struck by Humphrey and Nicolette when Felix tries to get a photograph of them together and Humphrey's painful descent of the stairs after a night spent on training runs under the stern eye of Miss Hacket.

The show ran nearly three hours, with intermission, but no one seemed to mind the passing time.

One of the highlights was the set itself, constructed by the team of Hans Eijsenck and Bill Abbotts.
TCT's next production is due in early May.