A quick visit to the Shaw Festival at picturesque Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario yielded an unexpected delight in the form of Drama at Inish. This 1933 little-known work by Irish playwright Lennox Robinson is receiving an endearing revival courtesy of the venerable festival currently celebrating its 50th anniversary.

For me, the production was a revelation in more ways than one. I chose the show with the hope of seeing an unfamiliar theatrical gem. Imagine my surprise, then, to realize that I had already seen it a couple of years ago at New York City’s excellent Mint Theatre. Except that it was then called Is Life Worth Living?, the title which was also employed for its 1933 London premiere.

But no matter: Whatever it’s called, the play is a diverting, old-fashioned comedy that well deserves its multiple rediscoveries. And this production, staged by the festival’s artistic director Jackie Maxwell, does it full justice.

Set at a modest hotel in a seaside town in Ireland, the satirical comedy depicts the chaos that ensues after the arrival of a visiting drama troupe. Accustomed to light comedies and circus entertainments, the audiences are taken aback by the heavy duty fare presented by the “De La Mare Repertory Company,” which instead features works by the likes of Strindberg, Chekhov, Tolstoy and Ibsen.

Their exposure to these ultra-serious plays causes the normally jovial townspeople to morbidly reassess their lives, resulting in emotional upheaval. A local politician experiences a crisis of conscience after seeing An Enemy of the People. The hotel’s spinster proprietress relives the loss of a past love, and both acts of violence and suicide attempts suddenly become commonplace.

What might have been heavy-handed satire is instead consistently delightful. The play’s disparate group of characters proves an entertaining lot, particularly Constance Constantia and Hector de la Mare (played with enjoyable hamminess by Corrine Koslo and Thom Marriott), the married couple who are the visiting troupe’s leaders and resident stars. Also endearing is the hotel’s eager employee “Boots” (the delightful Andrew Bunker)—the scene in which he reveals unexpected talent while auditioning for the skeptical visitors proves the evening’s highlight.

The talky play’s languorous pacing, especially in Act One, may prove irritating to impatient theatergoers. But if you allow yourself to go with its gentle flow, the ironically titled Drama at Inish offers plenty of comic rewards. And this superbly staged and acted production, housed in the cozy confines of the Shaw Festival’s Court House Theatre, fully realizes them.               

Court House Theatre, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario, Canada. 800-5111-SHAW. www.shawfest.com.