Review: The World Goes Round, Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

Well, this show has class and style in spades – it’s one of the best shows to be produced as part of the repertory in the Round in years.

The cast – all with West End pedigree – are Nigel Richards, Shona White, Laura Jane Matthewson, Ashley Samuels and Phoebe Fildes. All can ‘act’ a song as well as sing it.

The show is a revue of songs from Kander and Ebb musicals including the big hitters Cabaret, Chicago, Kiss of the Spider Woman and New York, New York plus the lesser known The Rink, 70, Girls,70, The Happy Time, Zorba, Flora, The Red Menace, Funny Lady and Woman of the Year.

The cast perform either singularly in duets, trios or all together – each given their moments in the spotlight.

The pace is quick – there’s no narrative arc just number after number – but the mood swings from melancholy to mirth in minutes .

The opening number is slowly paced And the World Goes Round – it is sung again later on – followed by the jittery, jolly Coffee in a Cardboard Cup.

Then there’s the fun of Sara Lee, The Rink - performed on skates – the sexy Arthur in the Afternoon, the sleazy Class and joyous Ring Them Bells.

All that Jazz gets the treatment from Shona White and every tear is wrung from the heartbreaker Maybe This Time by Laura Jane Matthewson.

Nigel Richards is outstanding – and shines in Mr Cellophane and I Don’t Remember You.

Of course, Cabaret is in the mix but is given a different jazzier arrangement – and the curtain comes down with the crowd pleaser New York, New York.

Get your tickets before word gets round – and it will – and this becomes a sell out.

The World Goes Round is at the Stephen Joseph Theatre, in rep, until September 3.

Box office: 01723 370541