'Betty Blue Eyes' at the Novello Theatre

Set in the post World War Two austerity Britain preparing for a Royal Wedding - no obvious parallel left undrawn - 'Betty Blue Eyes' is an adaptation of the Alan Bennet scripted film 'A Private Function'. It revolves around a chiropodist and his socially climbing wife, a pig called Betty, a group of local dignitaries, a banquet plus the meat inspector who wants to bring them all to book.

The song writing team of George Stiles and Anthony Drewe have marshalled a collection of instantly catchy melodies with a fantastic line in witty and arch lyrics for this comedy. Which includes possibly the best song about foot complaints ever likely to be written although, admittedly, it's probably not up against that much competition.

The hit rate for the songs is astonishingly high. Whether it's in a fantastic belter - 'Nobody' - for Sarah Lancashire, the dizzying mini-farce 'Pig, No Pig', the frankly too hummable for it's own good 'Betty Blue Eyes' or the brilliantly orchestrated extended dance scene 'Lionheart', this is a very strong score. Each song is distinct, adds to character, moves the plot along but never forgets to be melodic and, perhaps most importantly, fun.

And this cast bring out the very best in the material. Sarah Lancashire is fabulous as the socially ambitious Joyce, all straight back and simmering resentment, perfectly partnered with Reece Shearsmith as a delightfully downtrodden - by both wife and society - Gilbert. They have the lightness of touch of experienced comic actors but also make you believe enough in the relationship to make the final walk into the sunset a genuinely heart warming moment.

Set design, direction and choreography all add to the mood, bringing an air of heightened reality to the whole thing. And the animatronic pig is surprisingly awww inducing.

However, with all of these strengths it's a shame there has to be a weakness and it's the book. Scenes which should bounce along never quite come to life; the Northern cadences should have a musicality of they're own but they never quite reach it. When this show sings, it soars but the dialogue is resolutely earth bound. Which, given there's a song every five minutes or so, does make the evening rather uneven.

Overall, Cameron Mackintosh has backed a very strong show for his first foray into the unforgiving world of the original musical for about a decade. This is defiantly old school musical comedy but there's nothing wrong with that.

Bill Count: 4

'The Umbrellas of Cherbourg' at the Gielgud Theatre

Kneehigh, the theatre company responsible for this adaptation of the 60s French film by Jacques Demy, had enormous success a couple of years back with 'Brief Encounter'. That was an altogether wilder reworking of seminal British cinema with the explosive moments of theatrical daring clearly counterpointing the safe, staid atmosphere of the original film.

In many ways 'Cherbourg' is less successful because it doesn't have the room to play with audience expectations and the material quite as much. Which isn't to say it's a failure by any means just not quite a success.

The sung play covers Guy and Geneviève's love affair as they have to deal with the interference of Geneviève's mother and the inconvenience of the Algerian war. At the conclusion of the six years, our hero and heroine aren't quite where you expect them to be but the story still manages to be romantic and humane.

All the performers do a wonderful job of keeping the recitative bouncing along which, while odd at the start of the evening, seems strangely natural and emotional at the end. Joanna Riding has a studied sixties elegance about her even when being wheeled around which is not something everybody could manage.

Less successful is the choreography of the actors around the stage. The constantly mobile state of the cast and set seemed to draw away from the quieter, more personal moments of the show. And it wasn't quite smooth and effortless enough to not draw you out of the action.

It is probably instructive that the most successful parts of the production are the additions. Presenting the town as a scale model at the start, transitions written on just about any prop you can think of, a balloon tango sequence and the joyous silliness of the shop door bell.

Maîtresse as performed by the cabaret artist Meow Meow, is a scintillating presence guiding us through the melodrama with sympathy but also a hint of darkness. And the final lovers reunion which leads into an astonishing coup de thèâtre or, rather, a sequence of them reminds us what this company is capable of when in complete control of their art.

Bill Count: 0