Village Idiots are a mask theatre company. Therefore there is no dialogue and all the action is conveyed by mime. The masks worn by the many characters in the play are spot on in expressing their personalities. The humour is gentle and innocent. The setting is a run down hotel somewhere in an English seaside resort. The action centres around the bell boy who wears a Stan Laurel look alike mask and thus the character takes on the appearance of bemused naivety. There is no doubt that Charles Ash as the bell boy is the star of the play. Many of the elements of traditional slapstick comedy are performed with good timing in a very tight space. The action builds to a climax where there is general mayhem involving a hotel inspector, various tourists and the hotel staff. For straightforward undemanding humour Hotel de Mer is good of its type.                                                             ***