If you liked the film you’ll like the show, which gives you all the extra pizazz that only live theatre can deliver, and if you love ABBA it’s a must. Sentimental without being maudlin, great fun whilst keeping a sense of purpose, atmospheric lighting and bright costumes and with an uncluttered yet evocative set – everything conspires to make this great entertainment with a score few other recent musicals can match.

THE BARBER OF SEVILLE – In this the first of the trilogy, as well as being the barber, Figaro is the fixer of romantic assignations between Count Almaviva and the beautiful Rosina, about which all else spins. This is comic opera in which flawed very human humans parade their frustrations and desires, flaunting whatever power and influence they can bring to bear. . .

Those who like to be poked in the ribs by a musical are running out of excuses for not seeing Hairspray. Two films, a west End run and now a national tour of this hugely successful show find it packing them in at the Hippodrome. A cheerful satire on American TV and culture, a nod towards religious hypocrisy, a love story and a polemic against segregation in America – Hairspray takes on a lot in its packed, two plus hours . . .

Even by the shaky standards of show-biz biography this production pushes its luck, not least in the casting of its lead man. Glenn Miller’s plane disappeared over the English Channel in 1944, when he was 40; Tommy Steele is in his eightieth year. Miller was leader of the most successful of the great swing bands; Steele is a one-time rock and roller, now long- established as a song and dance man. How can that possibly work?