Comedy genius Joe Pasquale, the master of both verbal and physical humour, makes the revival of 1970s classic farce Some Mothers Do 'ave 'em a smash hit.

Resisting the temptation to impersonate Michael Crawford, he makes the accident-prone Frank Spencer more credible. The beret, trench coat and outrageous stunts are still there, but the “Ooh, Bettys” are gone. Pasquale gets the laughs with perfect timing, malapropisms and tongue-twisting explanations.

Full justice is done to the brilliant script and direction of Guy Unsworth in creating a stage version of Raymond Allen's successful sitcom. Sarah Earnshaw, as long-suffering wife Betty, and Susie Blake, as a wine-guzzling mother-in-law, also give superb performances.

Moray Treadwell (both an exasperated bank manager and TV presenter), David Shaw-Parker and Chris Kiely provide excellent support.

The plot, revolving around Frank's frantic efforts to impress in a BBC talent show audition and his wife's vain attempts to tell him she is pregnant, is silly and lightweight. But Simon Higlett's ingenious set, which crumbles bit by bit, helps create moments of hilarious mayhem.

Pasquale brilliantly exploits every situation. Amazingly, when Raymond Allen created this bungling, infuriatinng character, Norman Wisdom and Ronnie Barker turned down the role before Michael Crawford snapped it up!