YOUNG widows of wealthy old men had been merry long before Franz Lehar put a song in their hearts, but the fascination and irritation of society with women who gain financial security in this fashion remains staple tabloid fare.

Although set in Paris, the plot is really Lady Windermere's Fan meets The Blue Danube as extra-marital intrigues threaten to overwhelm the rekindled love affair of widowed Hanna Glawari (Jan Hartley) and Count Danilo Danilovitch (Earl Carpenter). Hanna's fortune, on which the future of her country of Pontevedria depends, attracts every chancer in gay Paree, while the Pontevedrian ambassador (Victor Spinetti) implores his secretary Danilo to save the day. If only the ambassador's wife (Victoria Joyce) hadn't lost her heart and her fan to Camille de Rosillon (David Curry).

The heart-searching of the lovers set against the familiarity of content, such as the Vilja-Song (effortlessly performed by Hartley), displays some careful casting by Peter Mulloy's Carl Rosa Company. Colourful, enjoyable and suitably comedic throughout, this is a frothy confection topped off with the all-male romp Who Can Tell What The Hell Women Are? which decorates Act Two and the finale.

Veteran actor Spinetti throws himself into the routine with gusto and plays the foil to Arthur Bostrum's embassy staff member Njegus, as the latter offers just a passing gesture to his 'Allo 'Allo policeman fame. One suspects it will take another 100 years to reach The Happy Widower stage.

*Runs until Saturday. Theatre Royal Box Office: 0870-905 5060

Published: 23/09/2004