Arthur Smith and Phil Nice in Oof!

If contemporary stand-up comedy is your cup of tea then this show is probably not for you. True, there is some shouting, a bit of anger, a modicum of effing and jeffing. But the two protagonists have a combined age of 139, started their careers over four decades ago and, in any case, for most of the show’s 60 minutes they remain seated.

To begin with we have two strangers meeting in a park enjoying the sunshine, chewing the fat, telling old jokes (“I’m so old, I can remember when I heard that one the first time.”). It’s a bit Waiting for Godot and, no surprise, Samuel Beckett’s masterpiece gets a mention early doors. That play is subtitled “a tragicomedy in two acts”. If Oof! had a subtitle it would be “a tragicomedy in three acts”.

Towards the end of Act 1 the two strangers realise that they - Arthur and Phil - know each other. Back in the early 1980s they had a double act called Fiasco Job Job, performing at the Edinburgh Fringe in 1984. On the back of that they were commissioned by Channel 4 to make a series of spoof travel documentaries, Arthur and Phil Go Off. They reminisce about their time working together, and to much laughter from both the audience and them, recreate some of their old routines.

But then, with a handbrake turn, the mood changes. I suspect there is some dramatic licence used, but what follows is a touching, often poetic examination of how the years keep rolling on and a reflection on the power of friendship. While Smith, the self-appointed Mayor of Balham, has been a stalwart of the Fringe over the years, this is the first time in a while that Nice has performed on stage, but it’s abundantly clear that they have enjoyed writing together again.

This is lovely, an hour spent in great company.

Arthur Smith and Phil Nice in Oof! at Edinburgh's Pleasance Courtyard Cabaret Bar until 18th August