Norwich Playhouse

Norwich Playhouse

'Hot Stuff' met its 'Young Man' in this big, glitzy, glamorous musical, incorporating the big hits of the Seventies (and beyond).

It was an exhilarating trip from the minute the 31-strong cast hit the stage with the number Celebrate the Day. They cavorted about the platform in true West End style.

And the slick, Fame feel that shimmied through the moves in that number was to be typical of all the routines, from the pink wash and glitter balls of Ooo, Baby, Please Don't Go to the faultless tap dancing of Talking About Pop Music.

As in most musicals, the story was pretty slight and could be summed up in the sentence - boy sells soul to devil to make him a star. But the principals pulled it out of the yawn territory with some energetic performances, particularly Jayne Cator, with her sultry rendering of the devil's servant, and Peter Pepper as the gruff club scene king Heathcliffe.

For a cast that still have their L-plates on (Threshold is the training company for Norfolk and Norwich Operatic) this was an ambitious show that carried you along in its sheer zest for life.