★★★★★ What was not to like? Bright and beautifully delivered performances from the entire company were given a fulcrum by the scintillating Soraya Mafi as the cheeky, irrepressible Countess’s maid, Susanna alongside the deliciously warm bass tones of David Ireland as Figaro.

★★★★☆ This is a dazzling ballet, chock-full of spectacle, high drama and wonderful dancing. The idea of a girl condemned to dance non-stop comes originally from Hans Christian Andersen’s sternly moral story of a peasant girl called Karen, who is so enamoured of her new red shoes that she dares to wear them to church.

★★★★☆ Freshly unwrapped, wound up and bouncing with energy, Daisy Wood-Davis owns the stage as Carole. Inevitably with this genre there is little opportunity for emotional development, but Ms Wood-Davis has a cat’s whisker control over the development of Ms King’s maturing personality

★★★☆☆ Once again, the skills of The Twins FX have been employed to produce a jaw-dropping moment or two.  This year, the visual highlight is surely the sight of Dick at the wheel of a flying double-decker bus that soars out over the auditorium.

★★★★★ Dazzling theatricality will always win the day if combined with great pace and energy and The Lion King has it in abundance, with sharp as a razor scene changes. At the finale the audience rose as one and roared their approval.  The latest version of The Lion King roars again.