In a rundown Northern seaside town, ailing comedian Billy Bash (Nigel Betts) visits his double-act ex-partner Cliff Biddle (Nigel Cooke) because Cliff's neighbour, Gulliver (Edward Hogg), tells Bash that Biddle is very unwell.
And so we are in a shabby living room where the reclusive, nutty Biddle lives in bitter anger that the double act wasn't revived once he got out of prison in the '80s.
Bash is a right-wing comedian, proud to be giving his post-Brexit British audience that comedy that the 'left-woke brigade' want to cancel. Even when faced with the fact his homophobic, racist material causes damage in the world, he stands by his right to make people laugh.
Biddle is a deranged, ankle-shaking reclusive who longs to dress up as Noddy and be back on stage. He is angry with Bash for shooting his eye out in a dressing room in the '80s because he didn't know his lines. He is a Gollum-like creature with an imaginary snake and a special relationship with carrots and butter.
But it's only when Gulliver's true intentions come to light that the play really gets moving. Gulliver, for the first half, appears to be a groupie intent on reviving the old double act, persuading Bash to let Biddle back on stage. In the second half, his true intentions set the match to a rocket firework and the play explodes into a heady mix of tragedy, comedy, slapstick and farce.
Plenty of funny lines, silly slapstick and yet The Double Act centres around serious debates.
The responsibility of comedians to society, not just to an audience, the nature of ambition, Christianity and questions of moral conduct / guilt all find a place in this pithy, dark comedy.