I noted with surprise the whole page recently given over in the Daily Telegraph to a review of the West End’s new production of The Importance of Being Earnest written by the chief critic of the newspaper’s principal rival, The Times.

The notice came in the form of an advertisement in which was printed, word for word, the entire review as penned for The Thunderer by Dominic Maxwell.

This seemed to me to be a highly unusual, not to say unprecedented, move about which – another surprise – there seems to have been no comment elsewhere.

Mind you, I quite see why the producers might have wished Telegraph readers to see a warmer appraisal of the play than the one supplied by its own head honcho of theatre, Dominic Cavendish.

Dramatic criticism is not, I know, an exact science but, even so, one must marvel at the utterly different view of the production taken by the two Dominics. On the day the reviews appeared, I clipped them out, intending future comment.

The principal area of disagreement concerns David Suchet, in his cross-dressing role as the formidable Lady Bracknell. For Cavendish, the show is nothing without him/her. For Maxwell, Suchet is but part of a great team effort.

The former writes: “Whenever Suchet is in sight, you’re less inclined to notice – or care – about (the) lacklustre state of affairs.” The play has landed with “a reppy thud” (Ouch!) For Maxwell, however: “It’s the outdoor, Bracknell-free second act that is the all-out joy in this show. (Suchet) pulls off his cross-dressing a treat, but really, happily, it’s an ensemble triumph.”

Can the pair have been at the same show?

As one present at the press night, I side with The Times’s man in this.

Make up your own minds at the Vaudeville Theatre until November 7.