On the face of it, A Mirror is a play about censorship in a dystopia. Here theatre must, by law, be uplifting. It must never tell the grim truth. An entire government department is devoted to ensuring that playwrights keep to these rules. Plays must be submitted to The-People-Who-Know-Best.

Written by Sam Holcroft, it is a clever work. The twists and turns are (by turn) funny, shocking and witty. It is one of those plays where all the pieces fit nicely together in the final scene. Meanwhile, it is completely engaging. The first half is 80 minutes and it absolutely flew by.

The play, which offers actors the chance to show their range within each character, is a delight. Congratulations to Corkscrew Theatre’s director, Lesley Ford for one of her slickest productions.

David John as Celik, from the Ministry of Censorship (Oops! Sorry! The Ministry of Culture) gives a nuanced and adroit performance as the official who, while laying down the law of what must and certainly must not, be in a work of theatre, truly believes he is helping writers to flourish while keeping them out of trouble. Why won’t these young writers understand that their work must be about the world as we would like it – not how it actually is. How can that be entertainment? Drama must not be A Mirror.

Particularly stubborn is Adem, a former soldier with mild manners who has a memory like a tape recorder. No detail escapes him and he persistently writes about what he knows to be true. A beguiling and understated performance here from Will Males (pictured).

Thinking he will save Adem from his folly, Celik introduces him to established playwright Bax, who has become a celebrity by writing plays that please. Of course, he has. Celik arranges a workshop between Adem, Bax, Celik himself and Celik’s female assistant Mei, to demonstrate how a battle scene should be written – Bax having written heroics and Adem having told it like the gory mess it was.

Dan Aspel as Bax carries the comedy here in a very polished piece of panache. Sharon Rose Goldtzik, as Mei also has plenty of scope for comedy, passion and bathos, all carried off with aplomb.

As a master stroke, Christian Burton appears at the end as the Senior Officer In-Charge-Of-All-Of-Us in a terrifyingly authoritative performance.

As the play opens, we are invited to a wedding. As we go to take our seats, we are asked: “Are you here for the bride or groom?” By the end, we wanted to toast all of them.

A Mirror, presented by Corkscrew Theatre, is at The Atrium Theatre at Chesterton Community College, Cambridge until September 27.

BY ANGELA SINGER