WRITING, directing and appearing in a play is no mean feat.

You need the ideas, the vision and the skills to make the task a success. Luckily Katie Louise Fry appears to have all these, as well as the ability to pull together a great cast to bring her work to life.

The Copper Jar is an hour-long comic play, set in a sandwich shop, owned by the wonderfully psychotic Dups, played to Basil Fawlty-esque neurotic perfection by Sam Rowlands.

We follow his five regulars, Dups is very particular about who he’ll serve, getting snapshot glimpses of their lives, loves and losses.

The charmingly awkward Emma (Katie Louise) longs for love, while the object of her affections, Gav (Matthew John Morley) remains utterly oblivious - tormenting her with tales of unsuccessful dates.

Married couple Sean and Chelsea (Mike Friend and Leni Murphy) are desperate to have children, but this is driving a wedge between them.

Twenty-something Dominic Crolla played pensioner Terry beautifully and with great sensitivity, capturing the bonds between each of the characters and drawing the close-knit former strangers together.

Would-be customer student Simon (Geoffrey Nicholas) brought a freshness to the mix, as a new face in the shop and a new friend to be made for the regulars.

Katie Louise’s writing and direction was tight and sharp, alllowing a period of time to pass on stage without delaying the storytelling.

Simple and subtle costume changes moved the action on without delays.

A comedy yes, yet with Fawlty as inspiration this was no farce: Katie Louise struck the perfect balance so often found in the best works of stars such as Victoria Wood and Julie Walters - the ability to make you laugh and cry within a moment.

The challenge of writing to a 60-minute slot was well met and nothing was missing.

However, I’d happily see the story developed to a full-length work with further exploration of some the characters’ stories and histories.