"What the Butler Saw," a madcap farce currently playing at Illinois Wesleyan University's McPherson Theatre, is fast-paced, engaging and funny, with a splash of Oscar Wilde wit.

The play, written and set in the 1960s by English playwright Joe Orton, takes place in the office of Dr. Prentice, a psychiatrist at a mental clinic.

He is attempting to seduce Geraldine Barclay, a young woman applying to be his secretary. That's interrupted by the arrival of Mrs. Prentice, who's just had a furtive romp with a blackmailing hotel bellboy named Nick Beckett.

Dr. Rance, who represents the "mental part" of the English government, adds to the confusion when he decides to conduct an inspection. He's as nutty as the rest of them and, as he observes, "The insane are famous for their wild ways."

A policeman, Sergeant Match, is ineffective in quelling the mayhem. In fact, before long he finds himself in a leopard print dress.

Clothes (cleverly designed by Marcia K. McDonald) come off and on as fast as the gags; characters undress, cross-dress, redress and start all over again.

The six ensemble actors are up to the zaniness. Director Sandra Lindberg has given them precision blocking and they burst into the first scene with energy, enthusiasm and enough nimbleness to keep from crashing into each other.

The show breathlessly careens toward the finish line, dragging along trip-ups like possible murder, straightjackets, hypodermics and a shoe mistaken for a phone.

Scenic designer Curtis C. Trout has created a sumptuous set with four clever entrances that are used non-stop.

Alex Pagels, as Dr. Prentice, and Carly Jones, as his wife, are delightfully smarmy. Elizabeth Schwarzrock, as Geraldine, is all wide-eyed innocence and she peeps out from behind curtains with a disoriented winsomeness.

Chris Feiereisen is believable as the scheming bellboy who's quickly in over his head. Michael Holding, as the policeman, looks just right as he slowly gets sucked into this cuckoo world.

And Nick Goodman, as Dr. Rance, has the acting chops to play the jolly farceur and also deliver a telling punch to the hypocrisy of social conventions.

Brokaw is a freelance writer who reviews plays for The Pantagraph

Venue: IWU McPherson Theatre

Times and dates: 8 p.m. tonight through Saturday, 2 p.m. Sunday

Cost: $9 to $12

Running time: 1 hr. 50 min., including 15-min. intermission