WHEN former Neighbours star Mark Little bounded on to the Theatre Royal stage, he brought with him a message for the good people of Great Britain.

The show began with his belief that we should forgive the male populace for their failings because – after all – they're only acting on their caveman instincts.

Defending the Caveman was an oddly compelling solo stage show.

Little explained the ups and downs of his life with longstanding wife Cathy – and all their common arguments and misunderstandings.

Then the lights would change and he'd gather his caveman spear and investigate the prehistoric roles of men and women – the man's early position as hunter and the woman's position as gatherer.

We were asked to accept that: men ignore women because of their century's old instinct to focus on the hunt; they are lazy because they are negotiating their workload with others; and they don't pick their pants up off the floor because they are marking their territory.

I am still not convinced.

Explanations by the Neighbours star sounded influenced by the famous book Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus by John Gray.

Both try to establish that men and women think differently in several fundamental ways, making communication between the two a tricky affair.

There aren't many women – or for that matter men – who appreciate being pigeon holed this way, although several members of the audience seemed to relish the chance to poke fun at their partners.

Though the sandal-clad Australian's mini-sketches sometimes swayed towards clichés, certain moments had the crowd in stitches.

Little's joke about refilling the bowl of Twiglets had more than a few members of the audience howling with laughter. Must be the caveman in them.