This summer Cornwall’s Miracle Theatre will venture into a world somewhere between Alice in Wonderland and Father Ted.

It is a world where the earth is not round but sausage-shaped, where eccentric policemen fall in love with bicycles and you can visit eternity via a rickety lift, in the heart of rural Ireland.

With its hilarious characters, streaks of dark humour and unforgettable plot twist, The Third Policeman earned its author, Flann O’Brien, a world-wide reputation as one of Ireland’s great comic geniuses.

Miracle’s actors have become experts in presenting plays out of doors: they know how to make the most of all the fascinating and unlikely venues where they perform, how to tell stories in the most entertaining and compelling way and how to draw the audience into an exhilarating shared experience. If you haven’t enjoyed a Miracle show in the open air, you haven’t lived.

On the face of it, a fast-moving hilarious thriller, peopled with unforgettable characters who would not be out of place in an episode of Father Ted. But the story keeps veering off into an unsettling parallel universe where time has the habit of standing still, night is explained as an accretion of black air and people’s personalities merge with their bicycles as a result of the interchanging of atoms. The production delights in O’Brien’s wonderful wit and luscious language and embraces barmy world with lots of physical comedy and cranky music.

Bill Scott, Miracle's director, who adapted the novel for the stage, said: "The novel had cult status when I was at college, it was required reading not because it was on the syllabus but because all my friends were into it. I remember reading somewhere that the author Flann O’Brien had originally intended it to be a play. We got permission to adapt it in 1990 but didn’t take it any further then. Thirty years later, this 'comedy of such staggering originality that it baffles description' gets the Miracle treatment."

The Third Policeman gives Miracle the perfect opportunity to show off its talents: packed with wit and wordplay, physical buffoonery, moody music and a story that grips you right up to the final extraordinary twist, all the ingredients for an intoxicating cocktail of farce and philosophy.

Miracle regulars will enjoy a cast of familiar faces with the return of Ben Dyson, who will join members of last summer’s cast Ben Kernow, Catherine Lake and Hannah Stephens.

Flann O’Brien’s scorching wit and delicious turn of phrase, combined with Miracle’s delight in physical comedy and absurdity, has to be a winning combination. Fans of this cult classic and newcomers alike should expect the unexpected.

Miracle will be touring Cornwall and the UK with The Third Policeman from June through to August. For details visit miracletheatre.co.uk