Often billed as 'redheaded - but clever!', the original Ida Barr was a jobbing music hall performer for over 60 years.

She was a strapping, six foot high lass who belted out much-loved tunes like Everybody's Doing It and Oh You Beautiful Doll and, being relatively well-known in her circles, drew steady crowds to her shows for most of the 20th Century.

Yet her tale is tinged with tragedy. Her marriage to comic singer Gus Harris failed due to his jealousy of her success, and she never really made it commercially, dying alone in a public ward with only £637 to her name.

"Ida was not a major star," says drag comic Chris Green, who has taken to recreating her little-known legend for his shows. "That is one of the reasons I am interested in her.

"Who could fail to be moved by the pathos of the brief biog on the back of her album in the British Library?: 'Despite years of intercontinental stardom and a repertoire of much-loved standards, Ida lives alone on National Assistance, but always remains cheerful'."

Chris, who also moonlights as country singer Tina C, first decided to impersonate the ragtime gal for a series of events at the Cafe de Paris in London.

He found a live recording of one of her songs at the British Library and used some of her creaky gags to put together the basis of a character, without doing much research.

Later Chris discovered this random choice of persona had more personal relevance than he could have predicted.

She had been just one inch shorter than him and died just nine months before he was born. She also had a close friend called Dolly Harmer, the same surname as Chris's partner of eight years and, in keeping with a show he had just been doing about being proud of having red hair, made her crimson locks a selling point.

Chris was even spookily told by old-time drag legend Dockyard Doris that: "You remind me of a lovely old music hall turn I used to go and see, Ida Barr". Hmmm.

The new Ida Barr, however, is a little different from the first.

Fusing music hall with rap and r 'n' b, she is a pensioner called back to the stage in her retirement to supplement her income. She drops some rhymes about the topics that matter - her home help, Gaviscon, and the injuries she sustained doing the Hockey Cokey last Diwali in her sheltered accommodation in Hackney.

After developing the character in regular night Screamers and Edinburgh Festival show Artificial Hip, Chris has created this lunchtime Christmas special full of carols, Bingo, warm sherry and Quality Street, plus fresh rhymes and urban licks from Ida and her young DJ.

Starts 1.30pm, Tickets £8.50/£6.50, Tel 01273 647100