Chicago uses the same kinds of provocative dance moves that Bob Fosse used in the night club sequences of Cabaret. Where some lesser musicals leave you wanting the numbers to stop and the action to continue, in Chicago the music and wonderfully choreographed dance numbers are the driving force and leave you wanting more and more . . . This is a show fizzing with sexual energy and some standout performances, but above all a number of very slick and provocative ensemble routines delivered with wit and sophistication.

Birmingham Royal Ballet dazzled with the athletic prowess of its Principal Dancers during this highly stylised and sumptuously costumed performance of The Taming of the Shrew . . . Choreographer John Cranko climaxes this piece with three pas-de-deux involving Principal Dancers Iain Mackay and Elisha Willis as ‘conquering’ lover Petruchio and the Shrew, Katherina. Mackay kept his swagger throughout a gruelling workout of dramatic lifts, slides and off-balance promenades . . .

The Mikado, can, on the face of it, appear as extraordinarily eccentric. There is a surface quaintness that belies the more sinister themes of power, frustrated love and judicial cruelty that run throughout the narrative. Tonight’s production straddled those two extremes perfectly. The songs, of course, help to sweep you along – Three Little Maids From School Are We and Here’s A How-De-Do being the more obviously remembered upbeat melodies . . .

. . . this is a show, a glittering, energetic, colourful, tune filled extravaganza. The laugh-out-loud costumes are such that would put any pantomime dame or ugly sister in the shade and numbers included dancing paintbrushes and swirling, cavorting cup cakes, the latter to a very camp version of Macarthur Park. The floating divas, each suspended beneath their own fluffy cloud, alternately depicting glittering seraphs and cherubim each sing angelically, and tip the show from the outrageous into the surreal.

It’s an entertaining show, with all the elements of Horrible Histories storytelling that two generations have now come to know and love. But whereas the original drawings of illustrator Martin Brown have provided so much warmth to the character of the books, the introduction of top-of-the-range digital effects is possibly in danger of stealing this show, making it a little too slick. But despite this, this Horrible Histories staging remains a fun way to swallow some cool facts at a young age.