Review: Dirty Rotten Scoundrels - Opera House, Manchester

IT is just over a year since this joyous and funny musical, based on the much-loved 1988 comedy film starring Michael Caine and Steve Martin, received its world premiere in this very city.

In 2014, Robert Lindsay played the handsome and debonair English conman Lawrence Jameson, and Rufus Hound the vulgar American scam artist Freddy Benson.

I saw it then and thought its mix of great songs (most tongue in cheek, with often hilarious, acid-tipped lyrics), fast pace and charismatic leads made for a great night at the theatre.

The show transferred to the West End and now it is back on tour, with a new cast.

Michael Praed, best known as Robin of Sherwood in the early 1980s, plays Lawrence and former Hear’say pop singer Noel Sullivan is Freddy.

The good news is that Praed and Sullivan seem made for the roles; both are excellent, with strong singing voices and a talent for comedy acting.

If you have seen the film, the story is virtually identical, with the funniest scenes (Ruprecht, leg whipping) pretty much intact.

But what makes the theatrical version as much fun and gives it a different – and entirely welcome – dynamic are the top notch songs (at least 16), all of which are catchy and a couple (Oklahoma? And Love Is My Legs) instant, hilarious, classics.

Hollyoaks actress Carley Stenson makes a vulnerable, yet feisty, Christine Colgate.

And Mark Benton’s Allo Allo accented French police chief is a treat.

How he and the two male leads did not descend into fits of giggles a couple of times during the performance is a marvel.

The show is playing for another week and is well worth checking out.

Unlike many of its characters, you will not leave the theatre feeling cheated.

Ian Savage