By Tony Flood

Mel Brooks’ smash hit The Producers is a timeless masterpiece and had a packed Theatre Royal audience in hysterics on opening night.

Cory English is fantastic as licentious, manipulative producer Max Bialystock. His comic timing, singing and dancing are faultless.

Jason Mumford also excels both comically and vocally as Max’s naive accountant Leo who discovers they could make a fortune by putting on an over-backed flop.

Max comes up with the worst ever play and director in ‘Springtime for Hitler’ and Roger De Bris (David Bedella).

Bedella is overshadowed in Act One by cavorting Louie Spence, playing his ‘common law assistant’. But when Roger has to step into the lead role of Hitler on opening night Bedella is a delightfully camp Führer.

Phill Jupitus’s crazy Nazi and Tiffany Graves’ temptress are also hilarious. But Tiffany does not make Ulla as sexy as Uma Thurman did in the film. Surprisingly, director Matthew White lets her perform the revealing number ‘When you've got it, flaunt it’ in undies resembling a bikini instead of emulating Thurman’s glimpses of stockings and suspenders.

But White copes brilliantly with the budgetary and logistical restrictions of a touring production to make the revival a rampant outrageous success.