Theatregoers who like their comedy served with lashings of slapstick and sexual innuendo are in for a treat next week, when the Company of Ten brings the hugely successful television sitcom ’Allo ’Allo to the Abbey Theatre stage.

Like the hit TV show – which ran in Britain from 1982 to 1992 – the production will follow the misadventures of Parisian café-owner René Artois as he attempts to juggle the demands of his wife, two mistresses, the occupying German forces, two British airmen and the French Resistance without being killed.

Fans will be glad to see that the best-loved characters, gags and catchphrases from the TV version are all present and correct, from the Englishman-disguised-as-a-gendarme Crabtree with his famous greeting, "Good Moaning", to Resistance leader Michelle’s, "Leesen very carefully, I shall say zis only once."

And, of course, no interpretation of the show would be complete without reference to the German commandant Colonel Von Strohm’s ongoing efforts to get his hands on that local masterpiece: The Fallen Madonna with the Big Boobies.

But there will be some key differences between the TV show and the Company of Ten production, says director Nick Tarrant.

"As a stage text, ’Allo ’Allo presents some interesting challenges. For a start, the characters will be well known to many of the audience, but of course the faces and voices on our stage won’t be the same.

"Jokes that work in camera close-up need very different delivery in live theatre, and a storyline that sustains a half-hour episode within a series has to be significantly adapted for a standalone piece three times as long. Every stage presentation is unique and this production will certainly be that – we just trust the audience will sit back and enjoy the ride!"

Abbey Theatre, Westminster Lodge, St Albans, Thursday, July 3 to Saturday, July 5 at 8pm; on Sunday, July 6 at 2.30pm; and from Wednesday, July 9 to Saturday, July 12 at 8pm.

There will be an audio-described performance for blind and partially sighted people on Thursday, July 10 at 8pm.

Details: 01727 857861, abbeytheatre.org.uk