A Busy Day, the lost comedy by Fanny Burney commissioned by Sheridan for the 1800 season at Covent Garden, played first in Bristol in 1994 and then on the London fringe in 1995 before its eventual West End production, of 2000, which opened first at the Bristol Old Vic and later transferred to the Lyric, Shaftesbury Avenue.

Ian Kelly played Frank Cleveland in both productions and helped champion its West End premiere, which he co-produced.

‘Worth it all for the stand-out performance of Ian Kelly… the comic genius of a young Alex Jennings’ 
THEATRE RECORD

‘notable for its discovery of Ian Kelly whose flamboyant and perfectly timed performance as the young coxcomb Frank out-fops Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen and out-camps Graham Norton’
THE INDEPENDENT

‘A beautifully observed performance’
THE DAILY MAIL

‘Ian Kelly is irresistibly objectionable as the young ne’er-do-well’
JOHN PETER, THE SUNDAY TIMES

‘Another red-head to watch is the rising star Ian Kelly’
MAIL ON SUNDAY

‘Ian Kelly truly shines’
THE EVENING STANDARD

‘The funniest performance on stage in London is Ian Kelly in the Kings Head production of Fanny Burney’s A Busy Day – go see a star in the making’
MAUREEN PATON, LBC RADIO