The Odd Couple, Neil Simon’s comic masterpiece about relationships, is a classic.

But while it is undoubtedly a gift for any actor and director, any staging has always been compared to the film version, starring Walter Mattau and Jack Lemmon, or the five-year-long TV series with Tony Randall and Jack Klugman as the mismatched flatmates.

Until now…

At The Mill at Sonning, actor Anthony Valentine has turned his hand to directing a fresh, tight production with Terence Booth and Martyn Stanbridge (looking uncannily like their TV counterparts) making the roles of sloppy sportswriter Oscar and neat, neurotic news writer Felix their own.

From the outset, the privileged audience is drawn into the world of recent divorcee Oscar who, on the surface, is enjoying doing what he wants to do in his eight-room New York apartment, but in reality is desperately lonely. So when his friend Felix’s wife chucks him out, the obvious thing is for him to share his home - with disastrous results.

Though Oscar may be lonely, his lines - and his portrayal by Terence Booth - provide most of the laughs, whereas Martyn Stanbridge really pulls at the heartstrings, despite being agitated and irritating as Felix. It is no wonder that neighbouring sisters - played wonderfully by Susan Skipper and Carla de Wansey as innocent and giggly sixties’ English roses - end up taking him in.

Neil Simon’s uproariously witty script, brought to life so well by this company of actors, is well worth its several Tony awards. Every bit as pertinent today as it was in 1965, isn’t it due another West End revival?

And this is certainly the cast to do it.