Poor Mr Punch. He's been hitting Judy for 300 years only to be told his comic beatings are no longer politically correct.

And so begins the play That's The Way To Do It, a sharp satire which looks at the way political correctness can have on people's everyday lives.

But the play, as you have probably guessed, is actually told by Punch and Judy, in real life Mel Adams and Mandy Mayhew, who have written, produced, directed, handled the publicity and fireproofed the sets themselves. But then no-one said an actor's life was easy.

The show opens at the Putney Arts Theatre on July 17 and if it proves a success, there is talk of it transferring to the birthplace of all things PC, America.

From coming up with the initial idea to the point of staging the show, Mel has found himself turning into Mr Punch.

"As I was researching the play I met a professor whose specialist subject was Punch and Judy," he says.

"He warned me the character of Mr Punch could take me over, and he was right.

"Normally, I'm quite a happy-go-lucky type of person, but recently I've become quite bad tempered.

"Strangely, Mandy has taken on, some of Judy's characteristics, becoming the downtrodden wife."

That's The Way To Do It began life when Mel and Mandy were between jobs and looking for something to do.

"We have known each other for about 10 years working together on numerous occasions," Mel says. "We had always talked about writing something together.

"It was a friend who came up with the initial idea of taking the Punch and Judy story and giving it a new twist."

This was 18 months ago and the initial script took six months to write.

"Basically the story is set on Brighton Pier at the turn of the new millennium and Mr Punch is told his show is no longer politically correct.

"He's forced to do a show which is much more PC but he doesn't want to do it.

"He thinks, Hang on a minute: I've been doing this for 300 years, why should I change now?'

"So he rebels against it.

"A friend of ours who read the script described it as a cross between Shockheaded Peter and Noises Off."

The show has been a steep learning curve for the duo, who have had to do everything themselves.

"Being actors, all we normally have to worry about is learning our lines and turning up on time.

"With this, we've had to do everything from fund-raising to fireproofing, so it's certainly been quite an experience.

"It would have been awful to have done all this work and then been told we couldn't open because our set didn't meet fire regulations!

"I can honestly say I understand the workings of the theatre much better now."

No matter what happens at Putney, Mel is confident the show will take off.

"To be honest, the Putney is going to be a trial run just to see what works and what doesn't.

"I don't care if people do think it's rubbish, so long as they tell us why.

"The show will definitely go on, maybe to a venue such as the Hen and Chickens in Islington or maybe the Edinburgh Festival.

"To be honest, we would have preferred a smaller venue, one which would have been easier to sell than Putney to start with."

And despite all the headaches they have had, Mel is in no doubt that if the opportunity arose, he would do it all again.

"It has been an incredible 18 months and at the end of the day, if it goes wrong we will have to take the blame.

"We can't turn around and say, It was the costumes, the script or the acting,' because it is us.

"On the one hand, it's very exciting, on the other it's terrifying."

This is a controversial and confrontational piece of theatre where Punch, Judy and political correctness finally collide.

That's The Way To Do It receives its world premiere at the Putney Arts Theatre on July 17 and is strictly adults only.

Details call 020 8788 6943.

Gareth Foreman