Hen nights, as a singular concept, suggest a sound idea around which to build a raucous theatre musical. It’s an occasion where groups of women very often go tonto, party like it’s 1999 and manage to find their inner Hunter S. Thomson.

But then if you add the element of ‘horror’, to the show, or at least a few jump scare moments, then you clearly have a piece of theatre that’s going to sell tickets.

That’s the idea behind Hen Night Horror, set to run in Glasgow’s Pavilion Theatre and written by Fraser Boyle and Ali Cleland. Louise McCarthy, who stars as mum-of-three Amanda, grins as describes as she describes the plot.

“It’s a sort of girls-night-out meets-Rocky Horror’ says the actor who is half of the cult stage show The Dolls, with comedy partner Gayle Telfer Stevens. “The story tells of how Amanda and her pals decide to have a hen night in a log cabin in the Highland woods, and of course the friends manage to get drunk and fall out, offering opportunity for laughs.”

She adds: “My character is great. She really tells people what she thinks of them, which I love because I’m not like that at all.”

But then strange things begin to happen. “There is an element of whodunnit attached to it all,” she teases. That suggests audiences can expect at least one of the cast members will expire during the evening? “I can’t give too much away in terms of plot detail, but yes, I can say there is a good chance that may be the case,” she laughs.

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Given there are two men in the cast list (Alan Orr and Matthew McKenna play alongside Frances Thorburn and Kim Shepherd) this also suggests that the women’s weekend will be infiltrated at some point by non-hens? “Yes. It’s fair to say they appear in a range of guises and get involved in some really farcical stuff, pretending to be someone they are not.”

We’re in the world of musical farce but McCarthy, who starred as dame in last season’s Tron panto, underlines the premise, that a group of women would celebrate upcoming nuptials by becoming one with nature, is sound.

“Yip, it’s pretty common for women to take off to a cabin with a hot tub and sit about later in their jammies playing daft games like truth or dare. It fits in with the cost-of-living crises, and at the end of the night there’s no one to tell you you’ve had enough.”

McCarthy, who recently finished filming a new series of Stevens and McCarthy sketch show for BBC Scotland, hasn’t had a hen night of her own. “That’s because I’m not married!” says the mother-of-two, smiling. “We were all set to do it but then the pandemic hit, and money was tight, so we decided to put the money into a house.”

Has she taken off with a wild hen party? “Oh aye. Me and my pals went to Benidorm, and I really can’t reveal too much about it except to say that one night out did involve going to a cabaret, to see the ‘naked magic act’ who called herself Sticky Vicky. For some reason the bride-to-be insisted we go along. But I will never forget what that woman could with her body. Nor will I ever eat chips and gravy for the rest of my life because I lived off them for four days.”

She adds, laughing: “And when I got home, all I wanted was a bowl of soup, a sausage roll and a cuddle.”

What is there about hen nights that takes groups of women onto another spiritual plane, if we can call it that? “It’s all about escapism,” she says. “It’s escape from responsibilities. At home it’s still women who hold the fort, sort out the nursery and school arrangements, the lot. As a result, when women do have a chance to get together and have fun – you can see it when we do Dolls shows - the level of enthusiasm for a really good laugh is incredible.”

Life is good right now for Louise McCarthy, who stars in BBC Scotland sitcom The Scotts. “It’s brilliant,” she says, smiling. “I’ve got this great job coming up, I’ve managed to get the house tidy and a washing out the back, that when I bring it in will smell like we did when we used to play outside. I couldn’t be happier.”

Hen Night Horror, the Pavilion Theatre, Glasgow, June 20-22

Don’t Miss: Well, how can you not be lured into a hall in which four fearless actors play 139 roles in 100 minutes of fast-paced fun and thrilling action? Yes, The 39 Steps has found its way back into town, Patrick Barlow’s pastiche of the Hitchcock classic, replete with stiff-upper-lips, British gung-ho, pencil moustaches, dastardly murders, double-crossing secret agents, and, of course, devastatingly beautiful women.

The Theatre Royal, Glasgow, May 28-June 1