​A comic theatre production with a distinctly Devon theme opens in Exeter this week.

The Farmer’s Wife, written by Devon author Eden Phillpotts in 1916 – and made into a silent movie by Alfred Hitchcock in 1928 – is a comic romp set in the rural village of Little Silver, near Plymouth.

Exeter company Creative Cow will stage the show for two weeks at the city’s New Theatre, say they hope to attract audiences who enjoy a good comedy farce.

The play follows the exploits of a recently widowed farmer who asks his housekeeper to help him in his quest for a suitable spouse. One by one, the eligible and the not so eligible, the young and the not so young, ladies of Little Silver fall by the wayside as he clumsily endeavours to woo them, unsettling the rural parish along the way.

Creative Cow actors Katherine Senior, Jonathan Parish, Harvey Robinson and Edward Ferrow will be joined by Tony Beard – known to many as the “the wag of Widecombe” – and Douglas Mounce and Jo Loosemore of BBC Radio Devon. Together they will play more than 20 characters in their bid to recreate the colourful farming community outraged by the farmer’s ill-conceived pursuit of marriage.

The production’s musical director is Olivia Dunn, fiddle player for the hugely popular Mad Dog McRea, and she is joined by Jamie Miller and Thomas White, who plays melodeon with Dartmoor Pixie Band.

A spokesman for the company said: “We’re treating it as a summer pantomime. The script is very funny and there is live music and singing throughout. We hope that by reviving this rarely-staged gem audiences will be charmed by its warmth and humour. It’s very much a local production with all local actors, musicians and singers. It’s going to be a lot of fun.”

The Farmer’s Wife is at the New Theatre in Exeter continues until September 11. Tickets priced £15 and £12 are available from the box office on 01392-277189 or by visiting: www.creativecow.co.uk.