Wildworks Theatre follows that very Cornish tradition of open-air theatre in unusual places: beaches, disused tin mines, gardens.

You’ll find its latest offering, comedy-drama The Kneebone Cadillac, slap-bang in the middle of United Downs Raceway near St Day, and there can be no more fitting location for this tale of a feisty Cornish maid determined to take on the male-dominated field of banger racing.

Scrap metal merchant Jed Kneebone has passed onto the great yard in the sky, and shocks everyone by leaving his cherished but broken-down 1958 Cadillac Eldorado to his only daughter, Maddy.

Rather than cash in the prized auto – which may or may not have once belonged to Elvis Presley – she is determined to get it back on the road in time for the Boneshaker stock car race.

But ancient family feuds do not die quickly. Throw in dodgy debts, dubious parentage claims and a former champion making a comeback bid, and Maddy’s dream of success sets the community on a collision course for chaos.

The production sheet reads like a who’s who of Cornish theatre royalty. The play was written by Carl Grose and first broadcast in 2011 on BBC Radio 4; and it’s directed by Kyla Goodey, who has had fingers in just about every theatrical pie in Cornwall.

Fans of Wildworks, Miracle and Kneehigh will see plenty of familiar faces on stage: Hannah Stephens as Maddy; Ben Dyson and Josh Penrose as Slick and Duke, “ugly brothers” worthy of any pantomime; Giles King as roguish, Stetson-topped Jed; and the inimitable Katy Owen in numerous roles but most memorably as leather-clad, pensionable Phyllis Vanloo.

With its trouble-making yet lovable cast of characters inhabiting a gritty post-industrial locale, The Kneebone Cadillac is the antithesis of picture-postcard Cornwall, yet highly recognisable to anyone who lives within sniffing distance of its rougher quarters.

It’s fun but fruity, the wickedly funny and authentically Cornish dialogue laced with dark humour and an awful lot of swearing. The delightful musical interludes are delivered with style by Hannah McPake and Alex Heane.

This is a show with real heart, and bears testament to the great affection people feel for the stock car racing tradition on this site. Look out for a reference to the geothermal rum distillery that almost put an end to the bangers – it drew a sardonic chuckle among our audience.

As you drive out of the raceway, into the “Badlands” and past the dump – sorry, household waste recycling centre – you will have a sense of having escaped into another life, highly plausible despite the caricature.

The Kneebone Cadillac runs until Sunday evening, and looks set to be a summertime smash. Don’t miss it. Book your seat via www.tickettailor.com