IT is 11 years since Will Young was crowned winner of the first ever series of Pop Idol.

And yet, more than a decade later, the singer is still definitely at the top of his game.

He has cleverly alternated between chart success and rocking the stage in a variety of productions.

His latest – Cabaret – opened at the Opera House in Manchester.

It tells the story of 19-year-old cabaret performer, Sally Bowles, and her romance with the young American writer, Clive Bradshaw.

Set in 1931 Germany, just as the Nazis are rising to power, the action takes place in the seedy underbelly of German night-life, Young plays Emcee, the master of ceremonies at the aforementioned Kit Kat Club in Berlin.

Resplendent in lederhosen, Young bursts on to the stage in the middle of a massive letter O – you have to see it to appreciate it.

Gone is the polite, undergraduate we all fell in love with on Pop Idol. No, this is a marvellously strange, wacky – and hilarious – Young.

Two Ladies was the embodiment of the slack morals of the era with Young sharing the bed with half a dozen people - and a giraffe.

And the show-stopper Tomorrow Belongs to me was stunning – and terrifying – with Young playing puppet-master to his troupe of cabaret stars.

Siobhan Dillon was superb as the emotionally damaged Sally Bowles. Her rendition of the title song was both stunning and heart-breaking.

And despite its tragic conclusion of the love story between Fraulein Schneider (Lyn Paul) and Herr Schultz (Linal Haft) provide some of the (few) light-hearted and warm moments.

The terrible final scene was truly haunting – with the cast stripped naked (including Will Young) before entering the concentration camp showers.

One of the best adaptations I've seen of Cabaret – and a fantastic night out.