We are watching Novelty Island – a talent contest on high-strength LSD – where a man called Graham Lister, with a voice like a tax inspector, is squeezing lard through the eyes and nostrils of a mask of the actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

Watching on, are the other contestants: a crab with an in-depth knowledge of the geology of the Scottish Highlands and Mr Wobbly Hand. The lard man is victorious. Of course.

Welcome to the crazy world of Reeves & Mortimer.

This sell-out tour sees the North Eastern funnymen celebrating half a century together. But this is no nostalgia fest. They may have exploded in the 90s but they have constantly evolved, remaining fresh. Plus their craft is so downright surreal it never dates, unlike, say, Monty Python.

We are lucky it happened at all. Middlesbrough-lad Bob is recovering from major heart surgery. Though they make light of it in a round of banter in which it is revealed Vic was his surgeon. Nothing is beyond parody with this two.

Many of the characters are here: The Man With the Stick, Donald and Davy Stott and their hilarious magic tricks (performed with the kind of finely-observed rubbishness perfected by Les Dawson) and turtle-neck sweater-clad folk singers Mulligan and O’Hare (Mulligan tonight sporting a bra to support an impressive, independently-minded, pair of breasts).

This was a night for fans, and we jumped on their catchphrases, especially during the brilliant Shooting Stars interlude.

Unless the New Theatre had spiked the drinks, the show definitely got weirder as it progressed, culminating in an eye-watering animation of Henry VIII, appendage on display, flying around Hampton Court, urinating on selected targets.

Some of it went over, and at times the sound was way off, making it hard to understand what the heck it is they were saying (even to this fellow Smoggy). But it’s all just so good, that it doesn’t matter. What’s it all about? No one knows, but I hope there’s another 25 years of it to go.

TIM HUGHES 5/5