Right I’m going to hang myself out to dry here. But it’s for the greater good.

I don’t know why, I don’t know how. But I missed IDEAL the first time around….

Johnny Vegas stars as Moz, Manchester’s longest serving weed dealer, in a dope opera of epic proportions. Starring some of the hit BBC TV comedy’s most iconic characters and actors.

Moz and gangsters Psycho Paul and Cartoon Head must dispose of a dead body. But when they discover priceless diamonds inside the corpse, things spin out of control .

Can Cartoon Head be prevented from going on a killing spree? Can big gay Brian find true love? And can Moz survive the strangest night of his life?

20 years ago saw the multi-award winning sitcom debut on the BBC.

Even though it ran for 7 seasons and 53 episodes. And I’m a self-proclaimed sitcom savant. And Baby Cow productions were behind this and some of my favourite shows which I can quote in my sleep… I somehow managed to miss it.

So, confession aired, here comes the compliments.

Before taking my seat in the charming space that is Quays Theatre at Lowry, I panicked realising my amateur behaviour, and with imposter syndrome knocking on my door, I streamed episode 1, series 1.

That was all it took for me to feel at one with the source material. Don’t get me wrong, I hadn’t scratched the surface and there were so many layers of enjoyment that you can only ever achieve when you’ve years behind you of getting to know characters, plotlines, idiosyncrasies and the very DNA of a show.

But such was the power of IDEAL, it came to pass that only one episode was the required gateway to enjoying this adapted stage show.

Thrilled I was as Cartoon Head led the charge, that already iconic -to- me mouse mask appearing out of the darkness at curtain up.

Hurray, I cheered with the appearance of Psycho Paul (Ryan Pope) who I knew already lived two streets down from our anti- hero Moz (Johnny Vegas) who when he appeared received a royal reception from the already elated audience.

‘Nice one’, I thought, clapping in Colin (Ben Crompton – also held dear to me as Motherland’s Animal Man amongst many other noted roles), and how I guffawed when he exclaimed that he was on probation – I was already vibing with an in-joke, such was the effect one episode had on me.

‘Yes’ I rejoiced, as Big Gay Brian (Graham Duff, also creater and writer), flounced onto the stage, again dropping a phrase that I knew, I KNEW, from the off , much to mine and everyone’s glee ,

ain’t he scrummy!

So I was already riding the crest of a wave of pleasure from the character and scene-setting, my brief pre-show buy-in clearly set in stone.

But as I shifted uncomfortably in my seat, imposter syndrome creeping in as I encountered characters that clearly weren’t to appear in the show until after series one, episode one, and to which invited glee from much better schooled and experienced IDEAL fans surrounding me, it wasn’t long before I ‘felt a connection’, to put it into reality tv dating speak, and looked forward to them returning to the stage in their next scenes. Honestly, it’s incredible really.

Tania (Emma Fryer), the breathy Bonnie to Psycho Paul’s nasal Clyde, provided a masterclass in mancunian drawl. I actually performed a cough and a choke, such was Psycho Paul’s drawn out delivery of the word ‘clavicle’.

Back to Moz’s living room, and I meet Judith (Joanna Neary), a character who apologises more than me and whose portrayal of a woman accidently three Es in, deserved nothing less than a standing ovation.

And Liza, (Lucy Farrett) Moz’s girlfriend, a character I’m fairly confident was new to us all, was given a warm welcome, accepted gladly into our brood (yes our) as a new member of this darkly humorous club.

Not to sound like I’m bragging, but I even recognised and welcomed audio cameos by a couple more of the OG characters.

Ok, a few memorable moments:

• The post-its gag – a boring yellow book about nothing
• The side-plot of corpse (in the death sense) disposal meets diamond theft, as Psycho Paul, Cartoon Head and Tania perform a three-person dance of double-crossing farce, prompting some of the biggest laughs of the night
• The line-fluffs, corpsing (n the laughter sense) and consequent improv as the cast broke the 4th wall to give us an almost bonus stand-up sideshow element to proceedings
• Colin. Just Colin.

With one character after another being tied to chairs, a head bag (something quite different from the good old hold-all from the 90s), numerous local references including Crumpsall, Wigan and Salford, and a malfunctioning prop that provided more squirt for our buck than I think we all bargained for, there was much to keep us all out of trouble on a Tuesday night.

Despite sound issues with the mics causing the odd jump from me and misapprehension that a shooting was part of the plot, IDEAL was a brilliant couple of hours, and I consider myself living proof that it can be enjoyed as a retrospective, a standalone 120 minutes of comedy or even a bit of both when your gateway into the production is a whole, one episode.

Plus I now get to stream the other 52. Dope (I done a joke).

IDEAL starring Johnny Vegas is at Lowry theatre until Saturday 13 September. With many performances already sold out at the time of writing, see if you can beg, borrow or steal* a ticket: IDEAL: Starring Johnny Vegas | What’s on | Lowry

*stealing is illegal.

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Production image credit: Andy Hollingworth