On a Friday night above a little pub in Clapham, London, just across the road from the local tool store, two southern hemisphere hardware giants fought for supremacy and won the hearts of Aussie and NZ expats along the way.

I am referring of course to A Hardware Love Affair, a musical in development written, directed and starring Full Volume Theatre founders Lizzie Bysouth and Sophie Helm. In a mystical New Zealand Town, 18 year olds are required upon graduating school to pledge their allegiance to either Bunnings Warehouse or Mitre 10 for life. When Mitre 10 devotee and top employee Maddie is sent undercover to Bunnings and falls for Green-apron allegiant Lee, she must question everything she knows.

Now in its second season, AHLA boasts a comprehensive script of extremely specific jokes about the Au/NZ hardware retail scene – there were some NZ jokes even I didn’t get – and a strong score of original songs. Protagonist Maddie Phillips and love interest Lee Flathead, played by Bysouth and Helm respectively, are adorkable in their budding romance. You really do root for these silly screwdrivers to find their way.

Our character ensemble is made up of satisfyingly stereotypical people you can always expect to see strolling the aisles of the local Mitre 10 or Bunnings; the over-enthusiastic store manager, played by Bryce Blackmore, and the customer with too many projects on the go, played by Jack Briden, are two highlights.

Composers Bysouth, Phoebe Caldeiro and Louise Jameson have nailed the brief of creating a spoof with nostalgia and heart, taking inspiration from Broadway and West End styles with a DIY-twist; I won’t get ‘fork-fork-fork-forklift license’ out of my head for some time. Bysouth and Helm are strong belters, adding an extra comical edge to ballads Pash Me (Love in the Garden) and Aisle of Broken Dreams, songs that are so clearly meant for bigger stages that serenade not just the theatre but the street. Where accompanying choreography leans into the show tune of it all, it’s brilliant. In some numbers where the moves are a little less orchestrated, the performers seem a little hesitant to overdo the silliness, but in this case it’s exactly what will round out the performance.

Centring the major conflict on the Bunnings sausage created truly high stakes, although my heart broke a little when they said a snag only cost a gold coin donation – those glory days are well and truly gone at my local green giant.

AHLA may ostensibly be about the romance between Phillips and Flathead, but what Full Volume Theatre have penned is a love letter to the specific ridiculousness of AUNZ comedy and a very niche part of life. It’s feel good and laugh out loud funny, and I wish them the very best for a future season 3 run.

Sauvignon Blanc| Wine Pairing