The pub quiz is a strange cocktail of contradictions, which provides the perfect frame for this earthy, witty exploration of small town aspirations, friendship and love.

Eyes Down, Pens Ready is set in a Lincolnshire watering hole, but the scenes are played out in pubs across the land.

Relationships were cleverly unravelled as Karaoke Dave’s questions unintentionally prodded and pulled at the knots which bound the four main characters together.

The play was well paced, flashbacks and monologues giving the characters form.

These switches in time and place could have appeared contrived, but the clever script seamlessly intertwined the different threads.

A wry dissection of the 1980s and 1990s – free parties, shell suits and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – got laughs without straying into cheap nostalgia.

Thursday was the play’s first night and, after some very early nerves, the acting was assured and the characters believable.

This is an exciting and hugely entertaining play, which deserves to do well.