When it comes to honouring your heroes never rely on television. Last year’s French and Saunders retrospective on the box highlighted their weaknesses. Some of their material had dated so badly it should have been buried in a box. Yet despite being on their farewell live tour after 30 years together, last night’s show frequently felt as fresh as a daisy.

Kicking off with a knockabout medical routine which confirmed them to be in rude health, the duo quickly revealed one of their enduring strengths. Although they are good at the verbals, it is often the visuals that raise the roof. Just walking on in ridiculously high-waisted black trousers, part-Cowell, part-clown, helped them to hit the ground running.

Their banter was in fine fettle too, whether as two delinquents foreshadowing Vicky Pollard or bickering like old troupers with longstanding grudges. An appealing running gag was the way they each tried to claim sitcom superiority, Absolutely Fabulous versus The Vicar of Dibley. Their pop pastiches were highly effective, too. Saunders exhibited a fetching lack of dignity as Madonna in a pair of revealing pants that were more tragic than magic.

The first half ran out of steam a little but they regrouped and delivered their strongest scenes after the interval. It was intriguing to see the re-enactment of the original AbFab sketch that spawned the hit series, with French in the Saffy role. The sentimental skit where they played two little rich girls dumped at boarding school for Christmas was a reminder that they can do pathos as well as pratfalls.

If the humour was sharp the staging was equally deft, with video clips plugging the gaps while the duo were changing costume or simply getting their breath back. Dawn French stole the second half onscreen as Catherine Zeta-Jones explaining how she had joined “the Spartacus Family” only for Saunders to steal it back onstage with her very own flying Peter Pan moment. No other women do this kind of sophisticated stupidity better. One could write a PhD on the rarity of successful female double acts. But it would be more fun to bag a ticket for this show when London dates are announced.
In Brighton tonight (www. brightoncentre.co.uk, 08700 900 9100)