WRITER John Godber presses this particular whelk shell to our collective ear and ssshh… the sound of the seaside breaks its waves on the shores of our senses.

And not just any old seaside, either. For this is Blackpool some time during the 1950s, a mesmerizing pot pourri of bright lights, donkey rides, tooth-rotting rock, stripey deckchairs, ice cream and boarding houses that reek of boiled mutton and Woodbine smoke.

It seems like yesterday’s here again. And how all those memories come rushing back, courtesy of the great Godber pen and the sharp acting of the two main protagonists, the inimitable Claire Sweeney and John Thomson, who chart the lives of Yorkshire couple Jack and Liz as they embark on yet another annual jaunt across the Pennines to Lancashire’s Las Vegas sur mare.

Observational comedy maestro Godber’s classic piece was inspired by his parent’s holidays to Blackpool during the golden era of the British seaside.

And to be sure, it’s a bag of chips fit for a king. But if Godber serves up the pot of whelks, then Sweeney and Thomson most certainly provide the vital salt and vinegar that are needed to pep the piece out of the seafront bus shelter and into our sensibilities.

Godber knows his niche cliché market inside out and milks every working class, macho line in the book, safe in the knowledge that theatre-going audiences – such as relentlessly middle-class Malvern - these days will regard such experiences as comparable to visiting a zoo.

But what rescues this piece from being a collection of all-too familiar stereotypes are the charisma, chemistry and professionalism of Sweeney and Thomson.

Jack and Liz have been wed for nigh on 40 years and Blackpool retains a special place in their memories. For it was here that they came as newly-weds and their love for the place is as enduring as the undeniable but at times strained affection they feel for each other.

There are some truly magic, even tragic… but above all some superbly comical moments as we turn the back pages of countless chip papers, peer through the grease stains, and read all about their yesterdays.

September in the Rain is a glorious excursion back to the days of knotted handkerchiefs, rolled-up trousers and seeking sanctuary under shop awnings as the endless rain sweeps in off the gravy-brown Irish Sea.

So all that’s left to say is pack your shrimping nets, buckets and spades and don’t delay… for you’ll absolutely love every moment of this fabulous story from one of Britain’s greatest playwrights.