Barbara Nice

His frequent collaborator Ursula Martinez plays Dazzle’s deranged stalker Maureen, with a surprising twist for anyone not aware of the signature move that defines her career. Also in the line-up is Australian circus performer Jess Love, here performing an inventive, wonderfully witty – but all-too brief – burlesque turn.

The night, though, belongs to Mrs Barbara Nice, the housewife superstar of the North West, utterly at home in an environment that could have been built for her. She banters affectionately with the crowd, leads the singalongs and generally celebrates the joys of life, however modest. Grabbing a bargain at TK Maxx is source of infinite pride for this middle-aged mum, as warm and sunny as a fortnight in Benidorm.

In fact, this pretty much was the Barbara Nice show, with a few side attractions thrown in. But you can see how there’s plenty of potential for this fine idea to be extended into a whole word the audience can be absorbed into, entirely separate from the Phoenix Nights route of cheesily bad entertainers.