The play follows the meddling Mrs Malaprop (Imrie) on her quest to marry off her spirited niece Lydia Languish (Wakefield). But Lydia has ideas of her own about the poetic but penniless Beverley, unaware that he and the handsome Captain Jack Absolute are one and the same person (Hadden-Paton). Meanwhile, her cousin Julia (Smith) is betrothed to the jealousy-prone Faulkland (McDonald), and the stage is set for a tale of romantic entanglement and disguise.

Imrie was recently seen on the London stage in Mixed Up North at Wilton's Music Hall and Nicholas de Jongh's Plague Over England at the West End's Duchess Theatre. She is best known for her TV and stage collaborations with Victoria Wood, including "Dinnerladies" and "Victoria Wood – As Seen on TV" on television, and the stage version of Acorn Antiques – the Musical, based on the scenes from the latter, in which she created the role of Babs, owner of the eponymous store, and won the 2006 Olivier Award for Best Performance in a Supporting Role playing She has also appeared in the films "Calendar Girls" and "Bridget Jones' Diary."

Smith won both the Evening Standard and Critics' Circle Best Newcomer Awards for her West End debut in Neil LaBute's Fat Pig at the Trafalgar Studios in 2008. She was subsequently seen in Peter Hall's production of Love's Labour's Lost at the Rose Theatre, Kingston.

Wakefield recently starred in the BBC's "Sense and Sensibility." Hadden-Paton was last seen in the West End as Jack in Peter Gill's production of The Importance of Being Earnest at the Vaudeville Theatre.

To book tickets, contact the box office on 020 7407 0234, or visit www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk