Mrs Barbara Nice at The Railway Inn, Didsbury, 8 Dec

Upon entering The Railway Inn in Didsbury you could be forgiven for wondering where on earth the comedy is about to take place. Ushered toward the back of the old fashioned boozer, we are then sequestered behind a curtain that separates us from the regular Monday night revelers. It’s almost like being in a child’s den; though this secret club is here for the comedy, with a delightful proper pub setting that indicates a more old-school approach to the form. It's a perfect setting for the mumsical stylings of headliner Mrs Barbara Nice.

Mrs Nice is a veteran of both Phoenix Nights and Max and Paddy, and those shows' comedic sensibilities are definitely on display tonight as she gets the crowd singing old adverts and singles out those who don’t know the tune to the Cadbury’s Flake commercial. She's the kind of woman you’d be embarrassed about being your mum but that everyone else can’t help but love. She makes everything into a popular cheesy song, getting the words slightly wrong – which would make a biological child roll his eyes, but the audience roll in the aisles. She bemoans the death of business institutions in this country as if they were a friend’s son who’d had a bad time on drugs, and ends the evening by taking everyone outside singing The Bare Necessities. It shouldn’t work; she shouldn’t have such control over a crowd but she cajoles even the most heartless into a smile, a dance and a song.

The night itself is masterfully programmed, with the sweary-girl-next-door charm of Allyson June Smith opening and setting a cheery yet cynical tone for the welcoming weird-fest of the middle section, which features the mad musings of Jack Evans and the awkward bombast of Tom Little – all tied together by your affable conductor Tony Basnett. The Railway Inn may not be your most likely stop for comedy, but they'll be damned if they let that get in the way of a great show.