DARIO Fo’s Italian political farce of the 1970s is reimagined for the era of Brexit Britain, food banks and the constant shadow of imminent redundancy.

Billed as “fast, furious, farcical”, it has all those qualities in spades as Deborah McAndrew adapts a Fo play for the first time since Broadsides’ riotous account of An Accidental Death Of An Anarchist 10 years ago.

In the intervening decade, McAndrew has established herself as one of Britain’s best playwrights, whether writing original, entertaining and educative works for Mikron Theatre Company or adapting A Christmas Carol for Hull Truck Theatre (and now to be reprised at Leeds Playhouse).

Based on a translation by Jon Laskin and Michael Aquilante with additional comedic nuance from Italian source material – such is McAndrew’s admirable thoroughness – They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay! thrusts the audience into the grey, concrete tower block world of Anthea (Lisa Howard), who has just nicked the week’s food amid a riot at her local supermarket, with enough for her friend Maggie (Suzanne Ahmet) too.

Out of work and in arrears with the gas and leccy bills that she’s in charge of, she can’t tell the truth to principled Leftie, staunch union-man husband Jack (Steve Huison), himself on the edge of being made redundant from his job in light industry.

She must hide the hastily grabbed items - dog food, Trill etc – and so begins a farce involving (mistaken) pregnancy, misled husbands (Huison’s Jack and Matt Connor’s Lewis) and one frenetic actor (Michael Hugo) playing two policemen at once plus a woman (and leading the show’s music too).

Socialist politics underpins the farce – the need to steal food, the rising burden of debt, the loss of a job as “the working class fight back” – but outwardly the absurdist comedy drives the play, mirroring the success of One Man, Two Guvnors, Richard Bean’s English spin on Goldoni’s The Servant Of Two Masters.

This is not a trouser-dropping, ooh-er Brian Rix farce – the open-plan kitchen and front room and the street outside, rather than a bedroom and multiple doors, form Jessica Worrall’s set – but nevertheless there are still well-worked, time-honoured farcical set-pieces.

This stage business, involving assorted food stuffs and police incident tape, is at its best when revolving around the physical and vocal comedy skills of the marvellous Hugo, who shines individually but is a team player too.

Huison’s Jack has plenty of old-school political soul about him, while Howard’s resolute Anthea breaks down theatre’s fourth wall amusingly to speak directly with the audience, bringing us into the story.

May the farce be with you: Conrad Nelson’s fiery, funny production is exactly the kind of play we should be seeing more often in broken, Brexit Britain, topped off by Fo’s bleak, angry, frustrated coda, added affer the 21st century banking meltdown.

They Don’t Pay? We Won’t Pay!, Northern Broadsides/York Theatre Royal, at York Theatre Royal until Saturday, then on tour. Box office: 01904 623568 or at yorktheatreroyal.co.uk

Visiting Hull Truck Theatre, October 23 to 27, 7.30pm and 2pm, Wednesday and Saturday matinees; box office: 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk. Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, November 20 to 24, 7.30pm (except 7pm, Thursday); 1.30pm Thursday and 2.30pm Saturday matinees; box office: 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com