Historical courtroom drama Trial By Laughter is currently being staged daily at Milton Keynes Theatre.
Based on a true story, it does come with added humour, although one imagines that in 1817 when William Hone was being tried for parodying religion, the government and the lecherous monarchy, he didn't much feel like smiling.
And he had to endure three trials in as many days.
Hone's story has been co-written by a man who has spent more than his fair share of time inside the courtroom, and a cartoonist and longtime collaborator.
Similarities? There are a few.
Trial By Laughter is from the joint pen of Private Eye editor, and Have I Got News For You team captain, Ian Hislop, and celebrated cartoonist Nick Newman.
On the eve of the show opening in the new city, they sat down with Total MK to talk about their latest creation.
Bringing the work to the stage opens it up to an entirely new audience. Who are they hoping will engage with the story?
"Anyone who will buy a ticket will do," quips Ian, and Nick agrees.
"Anyone with a pulse!" he says with a smile.
Ian: "The thing about the theatre-going audience is you want to think they are interested in history, but also want to be entertained.
"In the middle of the trial, Hone identified that too - being in the courtroom is like being in the theatre; you are performing for the jury and you have got to make them like you."
While researching the case the duo discovered that Hone turned from a meek man to quite the performer.
"Hone became what his idea of a performing barrister was - and he had no legal experience whatsoever," said Nick.
"By reading his account of the trials you learn that he started off very timidly, and by the end he was a virtuoso performer, which is captured very well by our actor Joe Prowen who plays Hone."
Ian has first hand experience of the showmanship that exists in the courtroom, of course.
"At one of the cases I was involved with, the lead barrister gave the opening summary and then went outside for a cigarette," he recalls.
"I went outside to speak to him, and he said 'How was I?' He might have just as well been opening in the West End!
"I was thinking, 'This is quite serious and there is a lot of money at stake,' and he was asking me whether I thought he was great," Ian says, "Anyway, I told him he was marvellous..."
During the 1817 trials, the man on the street thought that Hone was marvellous too.
It was the Regency government who begged to differ. But Hone was driven, and spoke for up to eight hours a day in court to clear his name.
"He saw the need to make people laugh to show the point of what he did, which was laugh our rulers to scorn. They deserved being laughed at, that's what Hone invited you to do, and that's what they couldn't bear.
"But the trials became so celebrated because they were completely unlike any trial that had been before, or that has come since."
It was quite the event, with thousands spilling onto the streets as the courtroom dramas unfolded.
Ian: "He started off trying to make the jury in the court laugh, and then he had 1000 people in the Guildhall, and then 20,000 were outside.
"That's the official estimate of the time, and as we know, police estimates tend to be lower than the actual number of people who turn up, so it could well have been more," he says, laughing.
When we speak with Nick, he has just visited Hone's final resting place in North London to pay his respects.
"Even in death Hone is as he was in life - his was just one very modest tombstone amongst thousands in this incredible tumbledown Victorian cemetery," he said.
More than 200 years since Hone did courtroom battle, Hone's name is reaching new audiences thanks to the pairing of Hislop and Newman.
Everyone should learn the story about the shy man who dared to stand up for press freedom, and the freedom of speech - grab your ticket now.
Trial By Laughter continues at Milton Keynes Thatre until Saturday.
To book tickets, click here
Never miss news or leisure info in Milton Keynes - Follow us on www.twitter.com/thisistotalmk
And on Facebook: www.facebook.com/thisistotalmk
