The School for Wives by Moliere, Nuffield Theatre

IT'S SEVENTEENTH-century French farce, not that you'd know it.

Such is the strength of the Nuffield's heavily reworked version of L'Ecole des Femmes it buzzes with all the fun, wit and pathos Moliere intended, yet is accessible to a modern audience.

Writer Derek Mahon and director Patrick Sandford have kept the focus tight on ageing misogynist Arnolphe and his bid to procure himself the perfect "dumb" girl in a paranoid attempt to avoid the ignominy of a cheating wife.

The script sparkles with rhyming wit and benefits from its setting in 1930s Avignon, complete with a three-piece band providing a touch of jazz cool.

Stylishly economical, both with set - consisting largely of a door and spiral stairs - and, at about two hours, its length, which is about right.

James Clyde is the golden thread stitching the piece together as the conniving Arnolphe. Rarely off stage, his initial sneering, nasal superiority evolves into the hand-rubbing cunning of a pantomime villain as he schemes to get his plans to wed back on track after being derailed by Alex Robertson's thrusting but oh-so trusting young buck Horace.

As he stalks off at the close, he is simply pathetic; his worst fear - total public humiliation by a woman.

Notwithstanding the appallingly contrived plot twist crowbarred in at the end, School for Wives is a fun night out which does credit to the Nuffield.

The School for Wives by Moliere is at the Nuffield Theatre, until Saturday, May 7.