‘Has the world gone stark, staring, raving mad?” cries bakery owner Mr Winner. It’s 1975, and he’s finally been forced to confront the fact that he must abide by the Equal Pay Act — up until now, he’s got round the law by fiddling the wage scales. Furthermore, he can no longer sack women automatically once they get married.

This could be dry, academic stuff in 2010, even though equal pay for equal work cases still regularly go through tribunals and the courts. But as usual with its more recent shows, the Mikron Theatre Company whip up interest in serious subject matter by using plenty of humour and vivid characterisation. In their new show Striking the Balance, we meet Marge and Rose, lively ladies who’ve worked on Mr Winner’s production line for decades. Perhaps reflecting the loaves they bake, they initially appear crusty on the outside, but they have soft centres within. We also meet their (male) union rep, a startled rabbit character who is rapidly toughened up and fired into action by his redoubtable members.

National personalities sweep through the show too, courtesy of Gillian Baskeyfield and Vashti Maclachlan’s sharply written, concise script. If Barbara Castle, the Labour firebrand who lived on the Oxfordshire-Buckinghamshire border, is considerably more aristocratic of manner and accent than I remember her, Mrs Thatcher’s most patronising manner is expertly nailed. There is also a splendid cameo of a half-cut Alan Clark, created by cast newcomer Richard Loosemore, and backed by some splendidly appropriate raspberries blown on a tenor sax.

The other three cast members — Adrian Palmer, Rachel Cartwright (pictured), and Gemma Ryan — all come forward for another season travelling from venue to venue on Mikron’s venerable narrowboat Tyseley. Palmer has a particularly exuberant time playing Marge very much in the manner of a panto dame, but the whole cast mesh together most satisfactorily.

Striking the Balance shows that Mikron is on a high. But it may all end, owing to funding cutbacks. What a shame it would be if this pioneering water-born company didn’t reach its 40th birthday next year.

n Striking the Balance alternates with last year’s show Pedal Power at pubs throughout Oxfordshire between July 6 and August 9. Full details: www.mikron.org.uk