The two one-act plays making up Office Suite both star the redoubtable Patricia Routledge, for whom Alan Bennett wrote them, as TV plays, 30 years before.

It was hard to imagine how she would have played them differently all that time ago, for the manipulative secretary visiting her retired boss is perfectly judged in A Visit from Miss Prothero and she is even more entertaining as the rather giddy office lady Doreen in Green Forms.

Of course, you would expect excellence from this acclaimed actress - but when you remember she is now 78, nothing short of awe will do in the face of such presence and skill.

Nevertheless, it is her co-star Edward Petherbridge who steals the show for me. Not only is he perfect in the role of the beleaguered retiree in the first play, he also gives a virtuoso performance as a one-armed office postman in the second.

This latter character must surely be a forebear of Victoria Wood's inimitable Stan, the janitor from Dinnerladies.

Apparently, Bennett was unsure about this revival in case the material seemed dated. It must be said those who laugh most (and longest and hardest) are gentlemen of a certain age who no doubt had first-hand experience of similar set-ups.

Yes, they are dated and some of the more repetitive jokes wear thin more quickly because of this.

But Bennett's observation and dialogue is so revealing and clever there is never too long before a word or an action provokes a universal burst of laughter.