Sunshine on Leith

Festival Theatre, Edinburgh

Dundee Rep have revived their Proclaimers musical for one more outing. This time the tour has ventured further afield with dates in the rest of the UK. I am not sure how this particular blend of Scottish humour, sentimentality and patriotism will have gone down south of the border but on home turf, it brings the house down.

Stephen Greenhorn has woven, occasionally shoe-horned, the Proclaimers hits, into a humourous,moving and highly entertaining musical. The book covers many Scottish preoccupations: love, football, moving away, coming home and the working class struggle. In the main, the well-written and melodic story songs from the Reid Twins, fit very well into the plot.

The cast is excellent and perform the numbers with gusto. This time round it is lead by the engaging Billy Boyd as Davy and returning as Jean, his mother, who keeps the whole show on road, the excellent Ann Louise Ross.

As so-called jukebox musicals go, Sunshine on Leith is definitely in the premier league, where the story, as well as the songs, has the power to connect with its audience.