TONI Feetenby and Adam Sowter are leading the Pick Me Up Theatre cast in Betty Blue Eyes, the Stiles and Drewe musical adaptation of Alan Bennett's A Private Function, in York.

The setting for Robert Readman's amateur premiere is 1947 when post-war Britain is in the grip of recession and rationing and the bigwigs of Ilkley are secretly fattening up a pig for a private function to celebrate the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip.

Mild-mannered chiropodist Gilbert (played by Sowter) and his social-climbing wife Joyce (Feetenby) are not invited, but when Gilbert stumbles across the pig, Betty Blue Eyes, Joyce hits on the idea of stealing it as revenge.

"I think what's really nice about Betty Blue Eyes is that it's an incredibly British musical, which is quite a rare thing," says Adam. "Even the Full Monty musical – the first show I ever did with Robert Readman – moves the action to America, so it's quite a novelty to finally be singing in a northern accent.

"I've always been a huge fan of Alan Bennett, Victoria Wood and that very quaint northern humour, and Betty is steeped in that tradition.The role of Gilbert was played by the League Of Gentleman's Reece Shearsmith in the West End, who is one of my absolute heroes, so it's both nerve-wracking and exciting to be stepping into his shoes."

Toni Feetenby may be playing Gilbert's class-conscious wife, but she she is only too aware of who is the real star of the show: "There's no point trying to fight it, we're upstaged by the pig in every scene," she concedes.

"Elanor Dunn, who made the puppet and operates it too, is an absolute genius. You look into Betty's big blue eyes and you genuinely believe she's alive; she even manages a jive or three and she never forgets her lines."

Witty, warm and frank, Betty Blue Eyes has an "intimate, stripped-down, almost Edinburgh Fringe vibe," suggests Toni. "It's very exposing, which means you have to raise your game; there's nothing to hide behind."

Betty Blue Eyes is based on the 1984 Handmade Films comedy that starred Michael Palin and Maggie Smith. "American screenwriters Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman loved it and proposed turning it into a musical, and when they approached Stephen Schwartz, the creator of Wicked, he told them the project was perfect for English musical-writing duo George Stiles and Anthony Drewe," says Pick Me Up Theatre director Robert Readman.

"The show received rave reviews when it opened in London's West End in 2011, and we've been lucky enough to be asked to perform the amateur premiere ahead of the musical's release to amateur companies."

Pick Me Up's cast features Mark Hird as meat inspector Mr Wormold, Craig Kirby as Dr Swaby, Neil Foster as Mr Lockwood and Louise Leaf as Mother Dear, the role that went to the wonderful Liz Smith in Malcolm Mowbray's film.

West Yorkshire Playhouse lighting designer Chris Speight stretches his legs as Mr Allardyce, after taking time out from running the lighting/projection desk for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang this winter.

This is Pick Me Up's second Stiles and Drewe production in York, following a lavish staging of Peter Pan: A Musical Adventure at the Grand Opera House in November 2013.

"The more intimate Friargate Theatre, just around the corner, is the perfect setting for the charming, laugh-out-loud, tune-packed Betty Blue Eyes," says Robert. "Weve transformed Friargate Theatre into post-war Ilkley: the bar area replicates a 1947 street party; upstairs, a butcher's shop and an Ilkley semi-detached house."

Betty Blue Eyes runs until Saturday at 7.30pm nightly, except tonight, plus 2.30pm on Saturday. Tickets can be booked on 01904 613000 or at pickmeuptheatre.com