The play, set in 1950s north London, is an affectionate look at a group of Catholic school girls, all named Mary, and how they deal with nuns, priests and religion in a changing world.

Russell believes the laugh-out-loud comedy will appeal to a broad audience, particularly those who attended a church-run school.

"Anyone who went to a Catholic school will resonate with it," she said.

"Nuns are really funny and you always have people who say 'oh, I had a nun just like that at school'.

"I think everyone can identify with what it's like to be 16 in a tightly controlled environment too; plus there's a lot of bad language - we say the 'c' word five times, it's definitely a bit rude."

The play is a case of "three times a charm" for Russell, who performed in the show when she was 17 and also directed it in 2001.

While she's fairly certain her third go at the script will be enough, she said the play's visual humour and fun was still appealing.

"It was the first proper piece of theatre I ever did at drama school in the UK and I just had such a wonderful time, I just thought it was really funny," she said.

"When I wanted to start directing, I knew that I could do this show - it's just so light-hearted and set in such a great time."

The show is also a rerun for local actors Diana Brown and Susie Hamers, who performed in the 2001 production, but Russell said a host of new faces, keen for a challenge, had also come on board.

"I like to dive into a script and and really pull it apart," she said.

"I'm lucky I've had a cast who are just happy to try everything, it's really helpful; I'll just say 'look if it doesn't work, we'll try something else', there's a real sense of working together."

The show is also a family affair, with Russell's 14-year-old son the assistant director and her eldest son working behind the scenes.

But would she consider a fourth look at the show, maybe next time on stage?

"Oh look, never say never," she laughed. "I really prefer directing now, though - it's great to be able to look at a production as a whole and really work on teasing out a text, that's something I really enjoy."