THEATER REVIEW : Ignorance Is Bliss (Family) in This Crowded British House : Light and frothy, Noel Coward’s ‘Hay Fever’ in Oxnard is an entirely pleasant evening’s fare.

While not a premiere example of British drawing-room comedy, Noel Coward’s “Hay Fever” has the advantage to modern audiences of its timeless subject matter--the folly of love--and a lack of familiarity. The plucky Etc., Etc., Etc. theater company is currently presenting the play at its headquarters in Oxnard’s Heritage Square.

Light and frothy, “Hay Fever” is an entirely pleasant evening’s entertainment.

Ignorance is bliss, goes the old saying, and the Bliss family in Coward’s play is nothing but ignorant when it comes to matters of the heart. Judith Bliss, a (for the moment) retired actress, and her husband, author David Bliss, are visiting their country home, along with daughter, Sorel, and son, Simon.

They are, in the words of a visitor, “a very bohemian family.” The elder Blisses, though still married, are so in name only, and David has invited to the house Jackie, a young woman he has only recently met.

Judith has invited a boxer who is much younger than she, and the children also have each invited acquaintances of the opposite sex to the country home. Unfortunately, the home hasn’t enough rooms for all the guests, and none of the Blisses has bothered to inform the others until it’s too late.

Before long, everybody’s paired up, if not with the expected person. By the end of the play’s quick two hours, everybody is where he or she belongs.

There are no subplots, political overtones, or anything else to tax the imagination; simply a number of examples of that peculiarly British stereotype, the upper-class twit, and four strangers who form their own alliances in response to the Blisses.

The cast is a mix of veterans, relative veterans and callow newcomers, none of whom turns in a really embarrassing performance under Linda Hyde’s direction (if this sounds like a backhanded compliment, so be it). Some, in fact, sparkle in their characterizations, particularly Martin Horsey, Helena Digby, Madee Stone and Hugh Bogan.

Interestingly, it’s three of the four genuinely British actors--Digby (Sorel), John Fincham (Sandy, the boxer) and Horsey (Sorel’s date)--who speak with the lightest English accents. Kay Digby, also English and playing Clara the maid, indulges herself with a very broad Cockney accent.

The non-Brits include Judy Heiliger as Judith Bliss; Bogan as husband David; Brenda Miller as Simon’s date, Myra; newcomer Randy Ellis as Simon, and Madee Stone as David Bliss’s would-be inamorata. Stone may have the most intriguing biography in the play’s program: in addition to a couple of film credits, it notes that “she has appeared in commercials, an NBC gameshow pilot, and was a contestant on ‘The $25,000 Pyramid.’ ”

A word about Etc. Etc. Etc.’s theater. Situated in the basement of one of Heritage Square’s lovely vintage homes, the performance space has been considerably improved since the “Drop Dead!” production, their last show in the same space. Also, patrons of the earlier show will notice, the new chairs are far more comfortable than their predecessors.

Details

* WHAT: “Hay Fever”

* WHEN: Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. through July 9

* WHERE: Petit Ranch House, 730 S. B St. (Heritage Square), Oxnard

* HOW MUCH: General admission $9

* FYI: For reservations or further information, call 933-3039 or 526-6219