"All The Fun Of The Fair" by The People's Theatre Company.

Nottingham Arts TheatreNottingham Arts Theatre.

Roll up! Roll up! Here's another jukebox musical that I actually like. As with "Our House", the songs in the musical are great and they fit the storyline of the musical, not just slotted in wherever the writers feel a song should go. This particular musical is based on the songs of David Essex.

"All The Fun Of The Fair" is set in a 1970's travelling fair with dodgem cars, hook a duck, a rifle range and candy floss booths, all which have seen better days. It follows Levi Lee, a recently widowed father trying to keep the fairground afloat, with a rebellious teenage son, Jack. Jack, falls for Alice, the daughter of Harvey, a local unscrupulous businessman, who isn't too happy that his little girl is courting "a pikey".

Gypsy future teller, Rosa, who is in love with Levi, tells him there is danger and mysticism in his future. Right she is too, as Harvey despatches a mob of his thugs intent on destroying the fair and driving Levi and his bunch from the town. Levi has no choice but to stand up and fight for what is his, or lose everything. But what is the cost to Levi?

Dodgems and motorbikes, crafty cons and candy floss and fights, as well as unrequited love, romance and rock and roll bring out the carnival atmosphere in this world of fairground life.

Levi is played by Sam Howard. He looks like he is from gypsy blood and his voice is flawless, and even with the little hiccup right at the very end, he commanded the stage, both as Levi as well as Sam. This is Sam's first show with PTC and his first show in 14 years. His confidence belies this fact. Sam also sings in a showband which explains why his vocals are possibly the best in the show.

Jack is played by Shantanu Bhumbra, and a proper "jack the lad" character Jack is. A typical good-looking fairground lad who has more than eye for the ladies who frequent the fair. I was listening to Shantanu's singing voice and there is a trace of the young David Essex with the way that he enunciated some of the lyrics. Shanatanu really came into his own in the duet with Amy when singing "If I Could". Their voices really matched and I loved the chemistry and connection between the two lovers. This is also Shantanu's first show with PTC.

Playing Alice, the girl who has fallen hook, line and sinker for Jack is Amy Rogers-Gee, who also choreographed the show. This is not Amy's first show with PTC - sorry I just had to add that bit! Wonderfully professional as always.

Alice's friends Sally and Rita, who escort Alice on their all-expenses paid visit to the fair are played, respectively, by Emme Gunn and Lindsey Jaycock.

Pippa Ward plays Rosa, the flame haired fortune teller. Pippa's voice is the first voice we hear. I've said it before that I love the Irish brogue and Pippa maintained a lovely sing song rhythm to the accent throughout the musical. Pippa's voice sounded so good with Sam's vocals in their duets. This is also Pippa's first show with PTC.

Daisy Donoghue plays Mary, Rosa's daughter who had fallen for Jack. We last saw Daisy at the Lace Market Theatre in "Picnic At Hanging Rock", and here she shows another side of her talents as a singer and dancer. I must say she also emotes well on stage. When Jack returns to the fair with Alice in tow, you could really feel her anger and sadness at the situation and Jack's betrayal. In contrast, there is a lovely, loving look in Mary's eyes when she is with Jack which creates a wonderfully romantic chemistry for these scenes. And guess what? This is also Daisy's debut with PTC.

Dominic Mills plays Johnny, a loner adopted by the fair to become the new "Wall Of Death" motorbike rider, which Levi hopes will save the fair. Johnny is an interesting character. He was orphaned when he was welcomed into the fair family and became best friends with Jack. A real bromance between the pair as Johnny had Jack's back throughout, not even revealing where Jack had gone when Harvey's thug returned to the fair and attacking Johnny. Dominic gave his all in this production and you felt the joy when Levi said that Johnny was to be the replacement motorbike rider. There were just a couple of times that Dominic needed more projection in his voice in the quieter speech sections, but apart from that, his debut PTC performance went swimmingly.

Chris Teasdale, who has also directed this musical, plays the thuggish Harvey. I've seen Chris in quite a few productions over the years and his experience shines through, especially in the scenes where Harvey really loses his temper and lets rip at everyone. These scenes are really quite frightening a she is not afraid of letting go, and that makes Harvey's dangerous side even darker, especially as we also see Harvey's lighter side, so a complete contrast in character.

Druid has been chosen by Harvey to get the situation sorted with Levi and is played by Adam Frith. Adam is another performer who has an air of confidence on stage and really gets under the skin of the nasty henchman character, Druid. You would not want to meet Druid in a dark alley at night. The coupling of Druid and Harvey makes for a completely believable duet of nastiness and Adam is perfectly cast.

Quite a large ensemble consisting of Barbara Benner, Barry Hobbs, Hemi Joan Lewis, Jenny Branson, Kate Russell, Louis Smith, Phil Deakin (or Deacon in the programme), Roy Smith, Scarlett Coleman-Smith and Sophie Benner.

The soundtrack is crammed with many of Essex's hits and some lesser-known songs. Along with the title track there's "Gonna Make You A Star", "Hold Me Close", "Me and My Girl (Nightclubbing), "Silver Dream Machine". "Lamplight", " A Winter's Tale", "Rock On", "Father & Son", "You're In My Heart" and "If I Could" plus more.

There is no live orchestra or band which meant that the singers really had to be on their game to get their cues spot on every time. There were maybe just a couple of ever so slightly missed cues but nothing major, and after all, this was opening night so there will be nerves. David Hails was the Musical Director for this show.

The mic cues were also a tad late on a few occasions, meaning that we missed some of the script from the start of some of the character's speeches. There were also a few places that could have been tightened up to snip seconds off the running time, but I am used to looking for these things and I doubt that the audience, who by the way were very appreciative of this show, would have noticed.

Sound Design is by Peter Hodgkinson and Lighting Design by Oliver Read. The talented twosome!

The set consisted of fair stalls, three dodgem cars, a real motorbike (not silver) and a large Levi's Fair/Levi and Son Fair sign. I remember from the touring production some years ago the set was festooned with lights. These were not on stage but hung all over the auditorium.

Costume wise, these consisted of clothes owned by the cast but really fitted well with the 1970's fairground folk attire and was not out of place.

The music really carries this show, and, as in "Our House", the arrangements make them sound fresh, and who can keep their feet still when you hear "Hold Me Close" or "Gonna Make You A Star". With a little attention to the minor points, this production will be a little gem, and just what the People's Theatre Company need to reintroduce them back into the Nottingham local theatre spotlight.

There is something different about a production when there are quite a few new faces within the cast, as opposed to a cast who have all worked together previously. It has a different overall feel about it, but maybe not to other audience members. It's something that someone who has seen many productions by various drama groups can spot. That said it is so good to see fresh blood being injected into local drama groups, especially after the last couple of years.

"All The Fun Of the Fair" is at the Nottingham Arts Theatre until Saturday 28 May, so roll up and get your tickets for the ride of your life!