NO ONE likes the thought of getting old.

But, 31-year-old midwife Jackie is so frightened of ageing that she faints at the very thought of turning old and grey.

So what does her therapist recommend?

Working in an aged care facility, of course.

So begins the tale of Yarraville comedienne Lana Schwarcz’s one-woman show Grandpa Sol and Lily’s Grandma Rosie, which kicks off tonight as part of the Melbourne International Comedy Festival.

What develops is a funny and poignant love story between two of the nursing home’s 90-plus residents, Grandpa Sol and Grandma Rosie, played by two of the show’s six life-sized puppets.

The puppets are all based on residents living at Caulfield’s Emmy Monash Home for the Aged, where Ms Schwarcz spent two months playing scrabble and listening to their stories.

She has used their audio recordings to provide the puppet’s dialogue.

“This generation went through the war and quite significant changes in history, so I sort of felt that it was quite important to document that,” she said.

The show has received rave reviews and won the Adelaide Fringe Award for Best Puppetry in 2008.

And its all set to go onto bigger and better things in June when the show goes on a four months tour around Canada, performing at nine fringe festivals.

Grandpa Sol and Lily’s Grandma Rosie was one of five performances from 78 international applications to the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals that made the cut.

“I was pretty excited, it’s a pretty wonderful opportunity. It’s great, because I see this show as being quite experimental in its nature in terms of using the verbatim interviews with the fictional comedy.

“It’s a wonderful thing to know by the end of the season that word has built up enough that your show is selling out.”

Grandpa Sol and Lily’s Grandma Rosie runs from 14-24 April at the CUB Malthouse. Call 9685 5111 or visit www.m-tix.com.au to book tickets.