Emma, Grand Opera House, York, September 24 to 28

Amid the hustle and bustle and sandwich-grabbing of the Grand Opera House autumn season launch, with its tribute bands, effusive show producers and York youth theatre actors, Cecil was immaculate in double-breasted Prince of Wales suit, exuberant bow tie, town hat and public school chin. He could be from the wartime entertainment ranks of ENSA, or a Light Programme presenter on the BBC.

In fact, he was in York to promote the latest Good Company tour of Jane Austen's mischievously satirical, elegant romantic comedy, Emma, the Bridget Jones's Diary of its day.

Next week, he returns to the Opera House to play Mr Woodhouse in Austen's whirling world of match-making, gossip and singleton insurrection: his second Austen role for Good Company. "I did six months as Mr Bennet in Pride And Prejudice, and when they decided to do Emma about a year ago they asked me to be a very different father to an Austen heroine," recalls Jonathan, settling into a quiet corner.

"Mr Bennet is a very likeable character; sophisticated and witty; Mr Woodhouse is rather dim, a nervous, hypochondriac type."

Different indeed they are but they share one characteristic: they are the stuff of satire. "Something we've discovered in doing these two productions is the Austen humour. All those television and film productions have been very good, very lavish, but they tend to be lush pieces where they're having to justify the expense. So there are great houses, grand landscapes and no-one is seen going anywhere without getting into a horse and carriage. What gets lost is the humour, that dry, ironic look at life," says Jonathan.

"I thought audiences would be amused when they saw our production of Emma but in fact they find it hilarious, and not because we play it as farce - we don't. The romantic element is still very romantic."

Sue Pomeroy and Dennis Saunders's stage adaptation is but the latest comedy role for Jonathan Cecil in a distinguished stage and screen career that has taken in PG Wodehouse and Mr Woodhouse, Bertie Wooster and Hastings in several films playing opposite Peter Ustinov's Hercule Poirot.

"It's one of the pleasures of this profession that you can swing from comedy to tragedy, though in nearly 40 years, I've spent most of that time in comedy," he says.

Tragedy is often deemed the superior artform and yet others argue that comedy is harder to perform. "I don't think anything is easier to play, but I particularly love playing Chekhov as his plays are kaleidoscopic and move from comedy to sadness, as real life does."

Push Jonathan again on the tragedy/comedy debate, and he does, albeit ever so politely, takes sides: "If you play tragedy - and I'm not talking about the great roles of Hamlet and Lear - then as long as you play it with sincerity and carry it with emotion, it will work. So sometimes a mediocre actor can be adequate and effective in a thriller or suspense drama, but with comedy you have to be skilful; there's no way around it."

On a long tour or production run, the "terrible temptation" is to coast from laugh to laugh, he says. "You know where the laughs will come, so I always go back to the reality rather than play the laugh. You have to think about Mr Woodhouse's character: he's not just a buffoon: he's selfish, he's terrified of losing his daughter and genuinely frightened of draughts and all those things that happen when you're becoming elderly, where you don't like change. You have to think to yourself that this is a real man, and not just come out to do a farce."

Jonathan had not done much acting at school, he preferred to focus on re-taking his maths papers three times to ensure admission to Oxford. "But I did discover the thrill of capturing an audience when I was in the school debating society. I put in a couple of jokes I'd heard on the radio that had nothing to do with the motion - even though I thought they were relevant! - and by the third time I was in a debate people were getting up and finding me humorous even before I'd said anything, as they knew I'd made them laugh before - and it was intoxicating to have that power."

So intoxicating that the theatre beckoned, and while still in his professional short trousers he had the privilege of working on the London stage with Robert Morley and Peter Ustinov - which should be pronounced Ust-ee-nov, he says - playing a priggish scout master in a production directed by John Gielgud.

"Gielgud was famous for his tactlessness but he was equally generous because he wanted to help you be better," Jonathan recalls. "When he picked me for that role in Halfway Up The Tree, he said 'I've seen so many good actors, so many good looking boys, but they would have to try to look ridiculous, whereas you..."

There was no need for Gielgud to finish the sentence.

His comment had been meant as a compliment, and given Jonathan Cecil's naturally humorous disposition, it may serve as his epitaph.

Emma, starring Jonathan Cecil, Laura Howard and Brian Deacon, runs at the Grand Opera House, York, September 24 to 28; evenings 7.30pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm. Box office: 01904 671818.

Charles Hutchinson

Updated: 09:04 Friday, September 20, 2002