Dave Thursby, the much-loved comic, has died suddenly, leaving a nation mourning and his friends and family bereft.

But despite the open coffin sitting throughout the opening half and Dave’s ashes playing a major role in the second, Rising Damp scribe Eric Chappell’s brand new comedy could not be described as morbid.

Instead it walks the line of black comedy, as gag-writer Harvey (Tom Conti) discovers how little he knew of the man behind the laughter.

The inland revenue and the Press are sniffing around, but the real threat comes from uninvited woman in black, Kay (Elizabeth Payne).

She could cause serious damage to Dave’s all-important “likeability factor” as a can of worms is opened and flung all over the faux Roman sitting room.

Harvey is very much the audience’s way into the story, an affable, plain-speaking Yorkshireman with a wicked sense of humour, who is often the last one left defending his old pal’s memory.

There is a definite chemistry with wife Vi (Diane Fletcher), who keeps his feet on the ground, approves his valediction speech and gently chides him about his drinking, in the way couples who have been married a long time do.

The pair contrast well with Royce Mills’s portrayal of pompous agent Kevin and his bossy “stick insect” wife Jane (Diane Marchment), who are the first casualties when the real truth about Dave starts coming out.

In charge of the ceremonies is Nina Young’s grieving dolly bird widow, a comic character in figure-hugging black, just on the right side of a footballer’s wife caricature.

As is to be expected with Chappell’s comic CV the script is peppered with great lines, helped along by Conti’s naturalistic delivery, although the second half occasionally descends into farce.

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