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Before A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum has started, the audience is confronted with the sight of grim classical statuary - white Roman busts uncomfortably accommodated in the Olivier theatre's every spare orifice. They look hilarious and cast a stony eye on the stage.
You know you are in for a giggle at once, but will Edward Hall's revival of this 1962 Broadway musical do more than rest on past laurels? When Desmond Barrit saunters on as Pseudolus, it seems as if Frankie Howerd, a legend in the role, has been nudged back into life - and perhaps some element of homage is intended.
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