Set during the Great Depression it’s a story of optimism, of an orphan’s dream to find parents who abandoned her.

Her life at the orphanage, under the drunken harridan Miss Hannigan, is grim until taken up by billionaire, Oliver Warbucks who provides the opportunity for a better life.

This production has a certain frisson – with Strictly Come Dancing judge, Craig Revel Horwood dragging himself into the frocks and stepping into the high heel shoes of Miss Hannigan, the malevolent orphanage superintendent.

And what a comic tour de force performance he gives - surely worth a ten from Len.

But this is not a one-man show. The production is full of excellent performances backed by terrific ensemble work and exciting choreography.

There is a theatrical saying never work with children or animals. Here there is not only a cute dog but a whole bunch of talented youngsters who steal the show.

They are led by Sophia Pettit as Annie (Madeleine Haynes and Isabella Papas at other performances). Miss Pettit is full of assurance but never precocious and is blessed with a strong voice.

She is cheeky, feisty and delivers her ballads with a sweetness that is devoid of cloying saccharine.

Five stars