UPSTART Theatre Company's trio of one-act comedies opened on the same night that Monty Python's reunited veterans took to London's O2 stage for comedy's answer to Led Zeppelin's 02 comeback.

It was a reminder of the benchmark set by Cleese and co, masters of an art form that is more difficult to pull off than tragedy, despite a grading system that plays a higher status on the frown than the clown.

Upstart have come up with a performance structure that they hope to roll out again to add variety to their programme of classic plays, bringing more opportunities to actors, writers and directors alike. It could work, but it needs more work too, judging by Tuesday's debut performance, which was a little rough around the edges. An announcer's introduction to each piece individually, rather than merely the first, would add polish and the changes between plays could be more choreographed.

Lonesome Pine by company member Mike Hickman and Mark Wakeman is the new work of the three, depicting Oliver Hardy (William Spratt) already dead and Stan Laurel (Andrew Isherwood) soon to reunite with him on the other side. The too-slow comic business works far less well than the pathos, and director Matt Simpson should jettison his misbehaving false moustache in his role as Italian hotel porter.

Ian Giles's revival of an Alan Bennett, Peter Cook, Jonathan Miller and Dudley Moore's Sixties' Shakespeare parody with fellow actors Hickman, Paul Mason and Joshua Burnell lacks context and timing, while Sarah Cotterill's revival of Sue Townsend's first play, Womberang, a tale of female empowerment set in a hospital waiting room, feels dated and a little hysterical, although Clancy McMullan's trouble-making Rita packs a punch.

Three Easy Pieces, Upstart Theatre Company, Upstage Theatre, 41 Monkgate, York, 7.30pm tonight and tomorrow; 2.30pm and 7.30pm, Saturday. Box office: 01904 632602, at upstart.ticketsource.co.uk or on the door.