WORDS like "serious" and "intense" aren't the kind of adjectives you'd normally ascribe to Alison Steadman.

Her trademark has lain in capturing armfuls of overbearing, blousy blondes from squawking Mrs Bennet in the BBC's Pride and Prejudice to unbearable, upwardly-mobile Beverly in Abigail's Party and Pam-e-lah in Gavin and Stacey.

But, as an actress, she treats each of these characters with a deep, nurturing affection, taking their fantastical foibles in her stride.

Her latest role, Connie – or "Mam" – in Alan Bennett's touring show Enjoy, is something different.

For Mam is vulnerable. Her memory is fading, the onset of dementia looms. Her marriage is splintering. And her beloved back-to-back Leeds terrace is about to be claimed by the city planners, while Mam is sold down the river into a modern maisonette. We are in 1980 and fine working-class northern souls like Mam are being herded towards a bleak extinction.

"She's a different character altogether to Beverly," laughs Steadman, fondly, as she mulls over her collection of household-name characters as if they're old friends. "Beverly is on the up. Her life is filled with consumer goods, men, drinks, a good time and plenty of lipstick. Mam has family values. She calls herself old-fashioned. It's nice for me to play somebody who was in her mid-60s in 1980. If I think back to my mum, she didn't go around in jeans. She would carry a handbag and wear gloves wherever she went. Now women in our 60s wear casual clothes –the whole style has changed. It's quite different to the Crimplene dresses, the curly perms and the carpet slippers you had on those days."

The play, premiered in the early 80s, and was, surprisingly, not a hit. Restaged last year, it found West End success with Steadman and David Troughton and the selling-out-fast tour – which arrives in Nottingham today – has followed suit.

"It's not an easy play. It's not jolly-jolly Alan Bennett, let's have a laugh. He's always got an edge to him. The play is quite dark and painful in places. But mixed in are Alan Bennett's wonderful observations about northern life and northern cities."

Steadman grew up in Liverpool.

"The play is a comment on the way we treat people who don't own their own homes," reflects Steadman. "In the early 70s Liverpool City Council decided to flatten all these Victorian houses and build high-rises. It was all pretty hideous."

Steadman moved to London, where she met future husband Mike Leigh, taking glorious roles in Abigail's Party, Nuts In May and Life Is Sweet. They divorced in 2001, but remain close friends. It's been a while since Steadman did a film.

"I would love to do a film," she sighs. "I'm always happy to work with Mike again. I don't have any films lined up – I don't actually know what I'm doing after this. I think there's some TV work on the horizon but it's not confirmed yet so I'm not able to talk about it."

Her latest TV outing was, of course, Gavin and Stacey. Although it has supposedly had its "last ever" episode, there is another "special" in the offing, although Steadman doesn't know when.

"We're hoping we might do another special at some point," she says. "At the moment, that's what people shout at me on the street – 'Pam-e-laaah!' People just love it."

ENJOY

WHERE: Nottingham Theatre Royal.

WHEN: From today until Saturday, 7.30pm plus matinees.

TICKETS: £11-£25.

BOX OFFICE: 0115 989 5555.