WEDDING lists normally request items for the house, cutlery, crockery and such like. Alas for Lord Arthur Savile, on the cusp of both 30 and marriage to his darling Sybil Merton (Jessica Fisher), his list runs to but one item.

"The fact is, I find myself obliged to murder someone before next Thursday," he blithely informs his butler, Baines.

His Lordship (Michael Cutler) is young and pleasant, but not overburdened with brains. The Hamlet-quoting Baines (John-Paul Wordsworth) is urbane and dry as a cocktail (but accidentally adorns his left ear with a ring for the first few scenes).

Together, they are the stuff of Jeeves and Wooster, the more so since Constance Cox piloted her stage adaptation of Oscar Wilde's short story towards the territory of exuberant farce.

There is blackly comic Victorian melodrama at play too in a comedy of manners set in the drawing room of Lord Arthur's Grosvenor Square house in London, circa 1890 (design courtesy of Mike Rogers, Owen Gurrey and Tomlinsons Antiques, Tockwith). Lord Arthur's predicament has come upon him through the intervention of his devious, superstitious dragon of a future mother-in-law, Lady Julia Merton (barbed Barbara Miller), a fearful snob whose line in putdowns puts you in mind of a mouthful of nails.

She has called upon the services of Mr Podgers (the dapper, conniving Neil Matthews), a cheiromantist, or palm reader to you and me.

Shakespeare had his meddling Puck; Noel Coward would later have his spirit medium Madame Arcati in Blithe Spirit; in between Oscar Wilde has his Podgers, and weasel Podgers spells nothing but trouble, informing Lord Arthur of his destiny to commit murder.

Being a man of honour, his Lordship feels duty bound to conduct his murderous business before he marries Sybil. It would be utterly understandable if his choice of victim were Lady Julia. However, he resolved to keep matters closer to home, selecting his racy if venerable great aunt, Lady Clementina Beauchamp (Ruth Ford, relishing role and chocolates alike) to suffer death by poisoned chocolate (not a bad way to go when you think of it).

To assist in his task, he enlists the help - or maybe that should be hindrance - of anarchist inventor Herr Winkelkopf (wild-haired Robin Sanger).

Without giving too much away, his forgetful uncle, the Dean of Paddington (John White) and aunt Lady Windermere (Doreen Gurrey), will be caught up in his Lordship's bungling business.

Alan Booty's company conducts its business briskly and with plenty of period panache. Cutler, all wide-eyed innocence and bemusement in only his second Settlement role, and debutante Fisher, suitably formal yet feisty, are welcome additions to the time-honoured craft of the likes of Ford and White.

For Settlement, crime pays.

York Settlement Players, Lord Arthur Savile's Crime, Friargate Theatre, York, until 19/06/04. Box office: 0845 961 3000

Updated: 09:55 Friday, June 18, 2004