CRAFT gin is currently one of UK’s obsessions.

But our love affair with the tipple goes way back.

Gin started out as a medicine – a cheap cure for gout and indigestion – but when people in the 18th century could not afford the likes of French wines or brandy, it became ‘the opium of the people’, the most easily obtained, strong liquor.

By the 1730s in London, there were said to be more than 7,000 ‘dram shops’ and 10 million gallons of gin were being distilled each year.

There are stories all over the world about the impact of gin from bars to bootleggers and it began to fascinate writer and performer Maeve Marsden.

She said: “I’ve always been a gin drinker and I started to talk to Elly Baxter who’s based in Sydney and writes a website called The Ginstress.

“She started to tell me the history of gin and I got really excited because I thought it was really interesting.

“I thought we could base a show around it so the three of us found a director and a musical director and we started researching. The more stories we found the more into it we got. We went right down the rabbit’s hole and the show’s changed over time thanks to what we’ve learnt.”

The show, which has already been a sell-out at Edinburgh Fringe, is Mother’s Ruin.

Maeve performs the cabaret with her long-time collaborator Libby Wood and it is coming to the Pyramid on Friday, April 27.

The unique production will see them chart the more notorious moments in the history of gin through the music of the likes of Amy Winehouse, Nina Simone and Martha Wainwright.

Maeve, who lives in Sydney, added: “We’ve focused on particular stories that would resonate with an audience.

“Some of the history is quite dry so we looked for things we could make funny, musical or personal in some way.

“We look at how gin was invented, we look at the gin craze in England in the 1700s and then again in the 1800s.

“We look at prohibition in the States and what was happening here at the same time then we move to look at a character in the 1950s before going to present day...so just a few centuries!”

Mother’s Ruin premiered in June 2016 in Australia. It is now on its second UK tour and Maeve told Weekend that their 27 shows at Edinburgh Fringe were the highlight.

She said: “It’s such a huge festival and such an incredible platform for artists.

“We were nervous. It’s really risky touring a show from Australia because the costs are really high but we had an incredible run.

“We sold every show, we added three shows, we got wonderful reviews and we managed to not lose money which has made this tour possible. That was a real line in the sand in terms of what we could do next. In May we also go back to Australia to perform at the Sydney Opera House so that might top it.”

So why has gin made a comeback now?

Maeve added: “Every craft gin maker likes to claim they were the ones that started the resurgence. Basically the distillers started to challenge the small batch laws. It goes right back to the original gin craze in the UK. They cracked down on small batch distilling.

“In past 20 or 30 years those laws were successfully challenged so then it became possible for people to set up small craft distilleries.

“From a more cultural point of view, there’s now more of an interest in locally sourced food and drink and the quality of what you’re consuming.

“A few of the bigger ones that came out like Martin Miller, Beefeater 24 and Hendrick’s started setting the tone for gin to have this cultural resurgence. People got into it so everyone got on board. Like with everything it’s a mix of politics and culture and a tiny drop of luck.

“Gin is so flexible. It just has to have juniper so that leaves room for a lot of creativity for distillers. You can appeal to a lot of different palates.”

The theme is one thing but Mother’s Ruin also represents the return of cabaret to Warrington. Has it become a forgotten art form in the UK?

Maeve said: “If anything it’s having a resurgence which is why we’re probably able to be booked into smaller theatres in different towns.

“It’s hard to categorise so people might have seen it but not known to call it that. It can be anything from burlesque, circus and variety to what we do which is more like a small musical theatre production. I often think one of the markers of cabaret is a direct address to the audience.

“We talk to them as ourselves rather than living inside of the play. There’s no fourth wall.

“It can be really broad. For us it means that our shows are political, irreverent and playful.

“In Australia it’s really popular. We have one of the biggest cabaret festivals in the world – Adelaide Cabaret Festival is where incredible international stars perform.”

Maeve is also well aware of Warrington’s important connection to gin.

A fifth of the world’s gin is made at the G&J distillery in Birchwood and among them is one of Maeve’s favourites, Bloom, made by master distiller Joanne Moore.

Maeve added: “We’re inviting Joanne to the show as she’s one of the few female master distillers in the world. We’re selling quite a lot of tickets in Warrington so maybe some of the staff are coming along...”

Mother's Ruin is at the Pyramid on April 27.

Visit pyramidparrhall.com or call 442345 for tickets