For the Love of Mrs Brown, Nottingham Arena

Almost exactly two years ago to the day, a foul-mouthed old Irishwoman took to the stage in Nottingham on what was to be a voyage of discovery for performer and audience alike.

Yet it remained to be seen if Mrs Brown's Boys, recorded live on stage for the television and which came to Nottingham in 2011 in the cosy confines of The Royal Centre, could make the leap of faith to an arena setting.

The Mrs Brown show has won a couple of Baftas in the meantime and obviously appeals to the masses too, judging by its continued small screen success. After all, we can all identify with everyday family life – and, most crucially, with the comic creation of Mrs Brown herself.

This was clear from the teeming crowds at the Arena for the first Nottingham show last night. Fans simply adore the whole cast. They don't merely watch and laugh... they gasp, wince and worry through with the flimsy plot, a vehicle for laugh after laugh after laugh.

For anyone who doesn't know, Agnes Brown is the result of the comedy genius of Brendan O'Carroll, who dons authentic drag to transform himself into the famous Dublin 'Mammy' and performs alongside his screen family, who – in many cases – are members of his actual family.

Confused? You won't be. It's straightforward obvious comedy, varying from the subversive – nudges, winks and innuendo – to blatant out-and-out potty-mouthed bad language.

In this new show we touch upon his flamboyant hairdresser son (obvious enough for you?), the vagaries of plastic surgery for a daughter who can't find love (which part of the body do you suppose?) and then there's granddad's addiction to Viagra. Not forgetting Agnes's own quest to find an online Valentine date.

And yet the audience loved it. Perhaps it is that we are in on the secret with O'Carroll, who confides in the audience in a series of asides while the comedy action is played out on stage. He pulls faces, rolls his eyes; tries to make the rest of the cast forget their lines.

If Agnes was real, she'd be a comedy uncle-turned-aunt who wants to liven up the family gathering. And O'Carroll must be good as he makes it all look so very easy to do.

So did the big screens each side of the set kill the live show? Not a chance. Forget the fact that die-hard fans will have heard many of the gags before: it was as though the whole room was watching TV together, enjoying the sharing of a communal moment. Perhaps reminiscent of the Olympics, or the Jubilee. Or perhaps not.

Good Mourning Mrs Brown - 'divides opinion like Marmite'

by Patrick Astill

It really is no surprise that the TV show Mrs Brown's Boys divides opinion like Marmite. It certainly isn't one for the faint-hearted.

The programme has proved a surprise ratings hit for the BBC despite going down faster than the Titanic with the critics.

It's a traditional comedy staple in that the leading lady is Brendan O'Carroll in drag playing who is now – in the lamentable absence of Dame Edna Everage - the nation's favourite old dear.

But there the similarity ends. I saw the cultured, witty Aussie 25 years ago at the Theatre Royal when she was at the height of her powers, and I've now witnessed O'Carroll's foul-mouthed Dublin Mammy at the height of hers.

There's no doubting the show - and the performance - are a successful modern classic but its weakness, some might say its strength, lies in the toilet humour and toddler-level willy and wind gags.

Having said that, the stage version, Good Mourning Mrs Brown, quickly found its level with an adoring Concert Hall crowd and it's a sell-out for the whole run this week.

Every nuance, every thought, and much of the action is a well-sculpted joy as we share Mrs Brown's take on love, death and homosexuality.

This two-and-a-half-hour treat is an amalgamation of several plotlines from the television series, so in many ways there's nothing new – and some of the gags were prehistoric anyway.

Yet it's a warm and winning performance with a smile, a knowing glint in the eye and a well-practised cackle to get us all on-side.

Three main strands include grandad pretending to be dead so that he can find out what people really think of him, one daughter's love-life with a new boyfriend, and the son's efforts to ensure there's enough cash to put a deposit down on a new home for him and his pregnant wife.

It helps that O'Carroll surrounds himself with family and friends on stage as they all clearly relish the nightly challenge of getting through the show without giving in to too much laughter themselves, although it must be a struggle.

The comedy veteran clearly slips in many unexpected lines which work wonders with the audience and also have the cast in stitches.

A sample gag (and one of my favourites), is when the doctor says: "We'll need a sample of urine and a sample of his stools"; Grandad: "What did she say?"; Mrs Brown: "She wants your underpants!"

Perhaps the comparison should be less Edna Everage and more Les Dawson...

But it's a winning mix and one of the biggest cheers of the night was when O'Carroll promised at the curtain call that the cast would be back with the sequel – the second of a five-part trilogy.