*** Imagine pairing the delights of a particularly Jamaican style of humour with an updated, slightly risque episode of "I Love Lucy'' -- and you've got the formula for the hugely successful comedy "Birthday Suite''.

Danji Productions, a company founded by musical great Shine Hayward in 1982, hosted this Jamaican-based comedy which returned to Bermuda by popular demand.

The evening began with the light humour and musical talents of Eugene Steede, who played the guitar while members of the audience enjoyed the buffet prior to the show.

The play starts off simply enough: A man named Bob is having marital problems, and a helpful co-worker decided to help him celebrate his birthday by providing him with a hotel suite -- and a prostitute.

A woman named Kate in the room next door has set up a date through a computer dating service.

The confusion begins because the door adjoining the two rooms wasn't locked -- of course, Kate thinks Bob is her date and Bob thinks Kate is his prostitute.

Matters become even more confusing when Kate's real date shows up -- and Bob's wife, instead of the expected prostitute "Mimi'', appears on the scene.

For those members of the audience with Jamaican connections, the show was no doubt especially enjoyable since it featured a cast of well-known Jamaican actors and actresses.

Winston "Bello'' Bell, who played the character of Bob, graduated from the Jamaican school of drama and is best known for roles in the ABC soap opera "All My Children'' and the stand-up comedy video "Blouse and Skirt''.

But the actor who clearly stole the show was Calvin Morris who played the irrepressible waiter /bellboy /"facilitator'' Tony. His role as the hotel employee who thought he had "seen it all'' was absolutely hilarious when he realised he'd never seen anything like the confusion in the birthday suite.

My only major criticism of the performance is that although the play was very funny, I think it would've been much stronger if they had cut it shorter.

The largely slapstick humour was based on the continual unravelling of mistaken identities and plans gone wrong.

In that sense, the plot was entertaining and cute -- but the confusion got slightly wearisome during the last 45 minutes of the play.

All in all, the show was well-performed and very professional. Most importantly, everyone in the audience seemed to have a thoroughly enjoyable time.

Kim Dismont Robinson