FORGET the movie, the stage version is better. Nothing can beat the razzle dazzle of seeing this slick, sleek and sexy show in the flesh.

The setting is a women's jail but Prisoner: Cell Block H never had such a bevy of bumping and grinding jailbirds as here. Cold-blooded killers Roxie Hart and Velma Kelly compete for headlines, craving the oxygen of publicity to kickstart their vaudeville careers.

Guilt or innocence doesn't come into it. Making headlines is what counts, and sharp-suited lawyer Billy Flynn is a master at manipulating the media and murder juries. There's nothing he, or clients Roxie and Velma, won't do to become celebrities.

The show doesn't bother with conventional sets and scenery. A bandstand is centre stage as the singers and dancers, clad in tight and sexy outfits, play out the drama around the musicians.

Rachel Stanley, with her Annie Lennox cropped blonde hair look, is hard and sassy as Velma, alarmed to find jailmate Roxie winning more column inches by claiming she's pregnant. Claire Taylor's Roxie appears sweeter and more vulnerable but underneath is as tough as nails.

Cavin Cornwall's smooth-as-silk Billy Flynn hides a cunning and deviousness matched only by Jacqui Rae's prison boss, Mama Morton. As she sings, "When you're good to Mama", her body language leaves little doubt about the rewards of being good to Mama.

The dancers are sexy, the orchestra swings and the audience gets hot under the collar as the production serves up a first-rate musical and all that jazz.

* Until November 6. Tickets 0870 606 3595.

Published: 30/10/2004