Review: And They Played Shang-A-Lang, The Stand Comedy Club III & IV (Venue 12)

Craft Theatre Company’s take on Derek Douglas’s happy ode to his 1970s rock’n’roll salad days is infectiously joyful and toe-tappingly played by an impressive young cast who look like they’re having the time of their lives.

Star rating: * * *

This musical’s trick is a simple yet effective one – giving sons and daughters the chance to re-enact their parents’ youth for their pleasure through song, dance and drama. So the musical recreates a time when glam, punk and pop music transformed fashion and hairstyles on a near daily basis, and the Sweet, The Osmonds and the Bay City Rollers ruled the airwaves.

When Lucy reads her late playwright uncle Jim’s final script, it brings him back to life to guide us on a nostalgia trip from school playground to youth club disco, family parties and the funeral of a friend. There’s a plot in only the loosest sense, as an excuse for a series of set-piece routines – sometimes poignant but mostly celebratory – based around sing-along classics from Waterloo to Bohemian Rhapsody.

The feel-good factor dips a little latterly and a couple of sequences could be shaved, but that’s minor criticism of a show that’s brimming with honest fun, belly laughs and promising performances, and also bridges a gap between generations.

Until 26 August. Today 12:50pm.