IF you've ever wanted to know why men and women have so much in common and yet are so different then a massive hit show could provide the answers.

Aussie comic and actor Mark Little pins the blame firmly on our prehistoric ancestors in the play, Defending the Caveman, which has proved a massive hit during its seven-month West End run.

Now audiences here have a chance to see it when the show rolls into Cheltenham's Everyman Theatre next week.

Mark, best-known to millions as the bumbling Joe Mangel in Neighbours, has made the show his own since taking on the role two years ago and said: "It is a fantastic piece and I do enjoy performing it. It is amazing.

"It is about real life and real people and it has a real relevance to people's lives.

"It creates a really good vibe because it is an exciting piece that people go away and talk about." The show has scooped numerous awards, including the Olivier Award for Best Entertainment during its London run.

It takes a quirky look at the differences between the sexes and aims to answer such puzzles as why women take so long over shopping and why men prefer to drink milk straight out of the bottle.

Originally written by American Rob Becker, the play was a similar hit across the Atlantic and when producers wanted to stage it in Britain they turned to Mark.

"It was my job to de-Americanise it and Anglicise it to make it entertaining for a British audience which is totally different to an American audience," he said.

References to baseball were swapped for cricket and certain Americanisms taken out, he also had to take out some of the repetition that, he said, American audiences seemed to need.

"I think the British are a little bit more up-to-date with humour."

As for our friends Down Under, Mark is in the perfect position to know what the differences are between the two cultures as he has lived in Britain since 1992.

"A lot of Australian humour came from the convicts really," he maintained.

"It was all very anti-establishment and anti-authoritarian.

"Aussie can take themselves a bit seriously sometimes and can have a bit of the convict chip on their shoulders.

"I think the British laugh at themselves a lot better. I do think it is an important part of this culture that they do take the mickey out of themselves at every opportunity."

Mark has a long theatrical career behind him but to many he will always be Joe Mangel, one of the main characters in neighbours in its 1980s heyday. I will be remembered fondly for something in the '80s that was very '80s," he said. "It was a weird time and for something like Neighbours to become so famous and popular just goes to prove how weird the '80s was."

Just how did a boy from rural Queensland come to be such an icon of British culture?

His first stage role was as Fagin in a school production of Oliver! and further public appearances steered him towards a theatrical career.

Since graduating from the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney in 1981 he has chalked up a number of stage and screen appearances, some of which won him awards.

Yet it was Neighbours that propelled him into the pubic consciousness, although he only took the role after two years without regular work.

"I'm slowly becoming more and more proud of Neighbours and of Joe," he said.

"He was loved, so I guess I did something right. That shows I did a good job."

Defending the Caveman comes after a two-year stint presenting The Big Breakfast, but he has few plans to return to television presenting when the Caveman's tour comes to an end.

"I would like to do my own funny show on telly," he said, "and I think a lot of people would like to see it but the theatre is a good place to be at the moment and I'm also working on a couple of film scripts."

Of course, the big question any Australian has to answer is the forthcoming Ashes series in cricket.

Can England overturn years of Australian dominance? He doesn't think so. "I think Australia will win by the usual four games to one," he said.

Defending The Caveman is on at the Everyman at 7.45pm from next Monday until next Wednesday.

Tickets priced between £7 and £14.50 are available from the Box Office on 01242 572573.