One Man, Two Guvnors cheerfully inhabits the long lost world of 1963 but it also channels the even older tradition of Carlo Goldoni’s 1746 commedia dell’arte play The Servant of Two Masters.

Among the heavily-teased hairdos and the looming of a band called The Beatles, Francis Henshall (Arran McKenna) finds himself employed both by twitty hero Stanley Stubbers (Patrick Galen-Mules) and resourceful heroine in male disguise Rachel Crabbe (Meaghan Stewart). A skiffle band lurks on one side of the stage, a portrait of the Queen dominates the opening set and there is the frequent threat of audience participation.

McKenna’s superbly cocky Francis leads an excellent cast. He juggles his obligations with deeply comic difficulty, forgetting which letter belongs to whom, serving meals to both masters at once and stopping everything to talk to people in the audience.

The stage is peopled with other wonderfully broad characters. Overbearing lurk merchant Charlie Clench (Paul Sweeney) hosts the engagement party of his not very bright daughter Pauline (incisive work from Holly Ross), but prospective bridegroom Roscoe Crabbe is dead and it’s his sister Rachel who is impersonating him.

Pauline prefers Alan Dangle (Brenton Cleaves, suitably over the top), the utterly terrible would-be actor who is ambitious to be part of the age of the angry young man but whose acting style is somewhere to the south of Sir Donald Wolfit.

Francis fancies the world weary, resourceful Dolly (an excellent Steph Roberts), whose knowing addresses to the audience challenge his, even foretelling the invention of the mobile phone. They will make a great pair, should they ever get together.

Michael Cooper as the elderly waiter Alfie makes a huge attempt to steal the show at several points, no mean feat in a cast full of competition that includes seagulls upstaging impending suicides on a wharf.

The on-stage teamwork needed to bring this all off successfully is added to by Declan James as snooty head waiter Gareth, Patrick Collins as shifty solicitor Harry Dangle, Marc Mowbray-d’Arbela as happy gangster Lloyd Boateng, and Annabel Foulds, Antonia Kitzel and Mark Richie in a range of short roles.

At times the skiffle band could be quieter and it would be good to hear all of their lyrics, but they add atmosphere and a feeling for the early 60s. It might all sound a bit like Carry On commedia but this is a delightfully knowing modern take on old forms and past times, and director Chris Baldock makes absolutely certain that the comedy never slackens.

Never mind the plot. It’s the energy that matters in this great end of year show.