Voices and Lyrics at Christmas made for an enjoyable night out at the Octagon theatre this week . . . but not if you were expecting festive music to put you in the Christmas mood.

One disappointed patron was heard vehemently complaining on his way back to his car that the singing had been very good, but it wasn’t what he had thought he had bought a ticket for.

There were snatches of seasonal music here and there, and a bit of a feeble singalong that even the professionals lost their way with towards the end of the evening, but if you were new to Voices and Lyrics the content would have come as a surprise.

But not a totally unwelcome surprise . . . the songs were mostly what host James Edgington (the John Barrowman of Bolton) called ‘character-based’. Some, the melancholy and wistful kind that reminded me of the short musical stories told by the likes of Barbara Streisand and Barry Manilow. Plenty others (too many for me) were a kind of odd comic number from off-Broadway musicals.

James’ other six cast members were accompanied on two keyboards and occasionally a guitar by jazz pianist Christian Van Fields and folk musician Rebecca Taylor. The pair were onstage for the whole show and their instrumental skills pretty much stole it several times.

Star singer was Katie Elin-Salt who was a hit in The Rise and Fall of Little Voice at the Octagon. She reprised one of the songs from that show, but her version of I’m not ready yet was the highlight of the evening.

When the cast sang group numbers, her lines were far and away the best. We found ourselves waiting for the notes she would deliver.

Louisa Lowe acted her comic numbers with fine skill, but for us, her best song was Anything worth holding on to,with lovely high notes in head voice delivered with ease, closely followed by her rendition of Party Dress - an energetic kooky number.

Sasha Latoya sang with a confidence that made us imagine she had just stepped off Broadway and made a great comic pairing with Louisa.

Newcomer Olivia Archbold, of Britain’s Got Talent fame, found her niche with They Just Keep Moving the Line.

Ian Fox’s dramatic experience showed and again, delivered worthy comic numbers. And James’ dad Graham added gravitas with his 70s classics.

The ensemble aims to tour next year and in the meantime, if you didn’t catch them at the Octagon this week, Voices and Lyrics sing at Oscar’s piano bar in Manchester on every fourth Sunday evening in the month. Worth the trek if you like your songs to tell a wistful or comic story and especially if you like jazz piano.