THIS show burns with a slow fuse but once the flame has caught hold… well, it goes off with a bang that would make even Guy Fawkes feel like he should have left his matches at home.

It was perhaps fitting that the first night coincided with our national homage to all things combustible but let me tell you this… everything that we saw on the Swan Theatre stage made whatever was going on outside appear little more than a damp squib.

Yes, bang, crash, wallop what a show. All right, the first few numbers – items such as You’ve Got the Love, Sitting On Top of the World and Hello – did come across more as preamble sparklers rather than the old two penny atoms that could singe your eyebrows from 20 paces.

But hang on, let’s wait to see that flame start licking up the bonfire and watch it go. For once the conflagration took hold, this show came in with such a force that the building seemed to totter on its foundations.

There were some particularly excellent - and at times electrifying - routines from the Harlequin Stage School, sharp work that made you speculate that some of these youngsters are indeed bound for great things in the future.

And the Claines schoolchildren’s poem cum prayer for a better world was a poignant mixture of both hope and optimism, delivered with a conviction that belied their tender years.

Meanwhile, in between slots, Paul Bellamy tickled our senses with a curate’s egg of comic moments, as did the Ugly sisters, Richard Hulbert and Ann Mayor.

And as for Cath Skyrme’s spoof Fifty Shades of Grey… well there was nothing black or white about that. Perfect timing Cath, and it certainly pickled my walnuts as Strictly’s Len Goodman would say.

However, this show rightly belongs to the company and its tireless producer Val Knight.

For she has done a sterling job and should be justifiably proud of her wonderful boys and girls… a team that has delivered a chunk of stage dynamite that’s guaranteed to blow you away. It runs until Saturday.