IT was a local show, for local people...the stage tour of hit TV comedy trio The League of Gentlemen arrived to a rapturous welcome at Blackpool's Opera House on June 18.

Expectations were running high and the house was full, but the boys did not disappoint.

The first half of the show had the gentlemen -- Mark Gatiss, Steve Pemberton and Reece Shearsmith -- dressed in dour tuxedos, performing a rapid round of wildly bizarre sketches with only three cane chairs and some wigs, earrings and football scarves to flesh out the brilliant characters they brought to life.

The trio's drama school background was never far from the surface -- they were all students at Bretton Hall College in Yorkshire -- but always with tongue firmly in cheek, and they had the audience of 20 and 30-somethings howling with laughter at references to Chekov and Shakespeare, and performed a great parody of modern drama productions.

Fans had to wait until after the interval for the strange and wonderful residents of Royston Vasey, the town where the TV show's "soap" is set.

But it was worth the wait. The trip into Royston Vasey -- introduced in a shower of flares and smoke by a be-winged and floating Tubbs and Edward -- was the show-stealer, with all the favourite characters making an appearance.

The show was bursting with energy and every sketch was fresh and, most importantly, extremely funny.

The audience gave the three a standing ovation. It was well-deserved.