Review: Guys and Dolls at The Mayflower, Southampton

This was certainly the case for Frank Loesser’s Guys and Dolls, a dice-rolling humdinger of a musical – with a strong cast. It’s bright, sassy and rather like a comic-book strip.

This enthralling tale about New York petty criminals and gamblers had me enthralled from the get-go, it’s fast paced and quick witted.

Two classic old school romances are brought to life, Richard Fleeshman and Anna O’Byrne’s on-stage chemistry make you feel like anyone can fall in love.

Lucy Jane Alcock sparkles as Adelaide, the lively long-term fiancée of Nathan Detroit. Her songs are tricky in parts but she executes them perfectly.

Carlos Acosta’s choreography is euphoric and energetic, but the real show-stealer was Jack Edwards as Nicely-Nicely.

His emotional rendition of Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. He got the biggest applause of the night from the audience, richly deserved too.

Until Saturday.