Their latest show, Strangers on a Train Set, casts its net wider. This time, the gags come not from one art form but from a rich amalgam of literary favourites, classic films, video games, youth culture, and everyday travel. If you happen to be a regular train traveller their acute observations will leave you howling in recognition, as the pair capture both the mundanity and absurdity of rail travel with the perfect twist of comic exaggeration. We’ve probably never been charged £16.40 for a drink and jaffa cakes at a train buffet car, but the pinch on our purse feels like we have.

The show opens at a talk for railway enthusiasts. Steve loves steam while Geoff is obsessed with the latest Pendolino technology. Together they build a model railway on which we travel through more than a century of train-related stories from The Railway Children from the turn of the 20^th century, through mid-century Brief Encounter, to a modern-day Miss Marple in the guise of unassuming knitting sleuth, Irene Sparrow.

This time-travelling murder mystery on a train set takes us from Murder on the Transpennine Express to Briefs on the Counter and back to another murder setting, this time, Murder on the 4.50 to Piccadilly (expected 4.57).

However, there are no delays in this production. It races ahead with perfect comic timing and technical precision as the pair weave film, puppetry and fantastical imagination – interacting on and off-stage with an array of recognisable characters they’ve created.

LipService are seniors with the enthusiasm, energy and playfulness of young children. So infectious is this show that the audience need no encouragement to join-in, re-enacting a scene from The Railway Children by waving and shouting for the train to stop. The atmosphere as the train grinds to a halt is one of pure joy.

This is feel-good theatre at its best, filled with genuine laugh-out-loud moments. For a fun, cheerful evening – don’t pass this stop.

Strangers on a Train Set is at The Lowry, Salford Quays on 17-19 May 2019 and is touring throughout 2019. For full tour details visit www.lipservice.co.uk

Read about the dream-like luminarium experience coming to Salford Quays.

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It’s clear from the audience, I’m far from alone in looking forward to the next instalment from this wacky pair, who’ve made a career of parodying literary favourites.

If you’re thinking, that sounds a little high-brow for me, don’t let that put you off – it really isn’t. It’s clever, well observed humour, that’s also gloriously silly, with plenty of visual and physical comedy, and as many popular cultural references as there are literary ones. Remember Colin Firth emerging from the lake as Mr Darcy? Thought so.

LipService choose well-known classics, like Pride and Prejudice and Rebecca, which have seen umpteen adaptations across several mediums, and manage to inject something left-field, getting us to look at what have become solid parts of our cultural heritage afresh, with plenty of laughs along the way.

The title itself explains the show. It opens with Sue getting down to writing, only to be interrupted by her dad, asking if she’ll go shopping or explain how to work his ipad. Going into a day-dream about how female writers from previous generations were distracted from their craft, the action moves to Jane Austen whose distraction leaves Mr Darcy dangling. And so, he goes looking for other famous women writers in search of a plot, encountering Daphne du Maurier, Beatrix Potter and Elizabeth Gaskell on his travels.

The sketches are skilfully intertwined. Large, beautifully quilted screens (produced from quilters groups across the country) are used to shield quick fire changes, as well as add to the general Play School feel of piece. Although the set appears simple, the pair cleverly intertwine video, puppetry and a whole series of costume changes to create numerous characters, including an overloaded internet cloud with no end of secrets.

Part of its joy is making you think about the creative process in a playful way – what if Beatrix Potter has called her famous rabbit, Philip? Another large part is seeing two talented performers whose friendship began as drama students at Bristol University, and whose genuine warmth and rapport is the secret of all great comedy partnerships.

In all, it’s a playful, feel-good show that has the audience laughing out-loud from start to finish.

Mr Darcy Loses The Plot is at The Lowry from 6-9 September 2017.

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