Richard Brinsley Sheridan’s biting comedy The School For Scandal - set in the aristocratic circles of Georgian London - was first performed in 1777 and is now given new life on the Royal Shakespeare Company’s main stage.

The play boasts a ridiculous plot, spectacular costumes and lots of laughs from the audience. It begins in the boudoir of Lady Sneerwell (Siubhan Harrison), who is the self-proclaimed distributor of scandal. There are plenty of prophetic (or ironic) names to go around - not least the gossipy Mrs Candour (Emily Houghton).

There’s lots of relationship juggling: Sir Peter Teazle (Geoffrey Streatfeild) has married a lady much younger than himself - a frivolous character played with sharp wit and energy by Tara Tijani. The newlyweds bicker constantly as Lady Teazle spends her husband’s money. He in turn is mortified by the scandal she stirs up in her wake.

Sir Peter has a young ward, Maria (Yasemin Özdemir), who he wants to marry off to the sober and moral Joseph Surface (Stefan Adegbola) although she would prefer to wed his wilder brother, Charles (John Leader). Lady Sneerwell has designs on Charles Surface as well and sets up her well-named lackey, Snake (Tadeo Martinez), to make her dreams a reality.

Although the play’s love triangles, deception, hypocrisy and amorality quickly become a tangled mess, the clever and bold direction from Tinuke Craig maintains clarity where there could be confusion. The old-fashioned elements of the script are acknowledged rather than being swept under the rug, and the play is sprinkled with silliness and 21st-century references.

All the performances are excellent. Stefan Adegbola in particular - sitting at the centre of the overlapping plotlines - manages to balance Joseph’s ‘silver-tongued’ character with great moments of physical comedy.

It’s impossible to talk about the play without mentioning the incredible set and costume design by Alex Lowde. The colour scheme is resolutely pink, in all directions, and the lush 18th-century costuming (with a twist) somehow seems completely at home on the sleek modern set. Hidden lifts raise characters up onto the stage, giving a nod to 18th-century theatre trapdoors, while also feeling like something you might find in a luxury penthouse.

The majority of the cast are also performing in Shakespeare’s The Merry Wives Of Windsor, and for those who are lucky enough to catch both plays, the pairing is nothing short of genius. It’s a joy to watch the talented company play similar or vastly different characters in a new context.

The School For Scandal is a camp, lighthearted and mischievous romp, dragging 18th-century scandal into the modern age - it’s definitely worth a watch.

Five stars

Reviewed by Jessica Clixby at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon, where The School For Scandal continues to show until Friday 6 September.