You could feel the love in Rocklyn on Thursday night, as the Tulloch Family Players - oops, I mean the Rocklyn Country Theatre troupe - took to the stage for its annual production.

The audience loved the actors and the show and the actors loved the audience - except for maybe Murray Kerr and Walter's Falls, who were the butt of many inside jokes that were either written into the script or simply adlibbed by the quick-thinking cast. (Note to Murray: after watching your wife on stage, I wouldn't be letting her go away on any girls' weekends - she appears to be a bit of a party animal. And congratulations on your new job as Walter's Falls undertaker!)

Aside from the apparent rivalry between Rocklyn and Walter's Falls, Rocklyn Country Theatre's Production of Luxury Cruise was probably the best play the group of amateur actors has produced. I think I've only missed two or three since they took to the stage over 15 years ago and this year's play had more to offer than the usual slapstick antics audiences have come to love.

"I took a bit of a chance on this play," said director Barbara Tulloch. "A couple of people read the script and didn't like it. They didn't think it was funny enough."

Whoever they were forgot to take into account the acting skills of the cast, and there were still lots of laughs, but there was a tragic, serious side to this play that made the funny moments even more so.

You can tell a cast is having fun and feels comfortable with their audience when they make things up as they go along. Like when the phone was supposed to ring, but didn't. Debbie Grimsley, who played Fran Watson, simply said, "Oh I hear the phone ringing - my husband must have put it on vibrate!" 

Or when Fran's husband, Drew, played by Keray Wonch, decided it was time to go to bed and attempted to sweep Fran off her feet. By the look on Debbie's face, I'd say that was a surprise addition to the script and Keray was lucky to get off the stage in one piece!

There's not much point in going over the plot line here, because the play finished its run on Sunday afternoon with yet another sold-out performance. Suffice to say it was a story about a bunch of whacky characters on a cruise around the world.

The three-act play took place in a different cabin each act, starting in Verla Simkins' (Sharon Doherty) and Cissie Simkins' (Ann Kerr) room. The two old spinsters from "Walter's Falls" were hilarious, especially Ann Kerr who adopted a "Girls Gone Wild" persona.

Hamilton Foote (Brian Tulloch) and his wife Corrine (Heather Thompson) were also having a lot of fun on stage, whether Brian was singing the Irish Rovers or Heather was having a marital meltdown - their acting was pretty intense.

Liz and Rick Forrest, newcomers to the Rocklyn stage, were handed the toughest acting job. They had to maintain "wicked" Italian accents throughout the show while moving the plot forward.

The cast was rounded out by Mary Jack, who played the uppity widow Lillian Gregory with just the right amount of snootiness and a whole lot of costume changes.

One of the funniest moments in the play is when Drew (Keray Wonch) does a strip tease and tosses his boxers into the audience, landing right in the face of a lady in the second row. After the show, she was seen holding the shorts out for Keray to autograph. Who knew Rocklyn had theatre groupies!

The Rocklyn Theatre productions are a real event in the rural community, so well supported that the crowd starts arriving an hour early in order to get good seats. Lucky for me, I get a reserved spot in the front row, next to Rocklyn's official photographer Ken Dumais, who said he is always impressed by the work ethic of the cast.

"All of these folks have full-time jobs and still find time to learn their lines and attend rehearsals," he said.

"Especially guys like Brian, who are working hard to get the harvest in. They do a great job."

All proceeds from the four sold-out shows go to support local community initiatives, including the Rocklyn Arena Board, the Rocklyn Agricultural Society, Rocklyn Kids Hockey and the Rocklyn Figure Skating Club.