Cast: Claire Sweeney.

Tell me on A Sunday is one of the most endearing and likeable musicals created by Andrew Lloyd Webber, whether it’s the addition of Don Black’s superbly written and well observed lyrics or the fact that almost everyone can resonate and identify with the girl on stage as she finds herself thrust into a life far from home, in a strange city, strange country with nothing but her sense of humour and the thought of meeting that one person who they can share their life with.

Although the story is written and usually performed as a single act experience, this production was split into two halves and it gave the heroine of the piece, the marvellous Claire Sweeney, a chance to go all out and still retain her breath rather than becoming jaded towards the end. Claire, knowing she had some big shoes to fill in the form of The Girl, with Denise Van Outen and Marti Webb having both played the part over the years, relished being in front of her home town audience and it was Claire’s down to earth wit that made it one of the standout performances captured on stage.

To carry a musical or piece of theatre by one’s self can be a daunting thing for any actor but from the moment the music started Claire carried each song as if she had been singing them for years, from the opening bar of the scornful and post rejection of Let Me Finish, through the comedy feel and heartfelt love and tug of a native land so far away in Writing Home (For the First Time) and to the show stopping hit of Take That Look off your Face which had been made famous in 1980 by Ms. Webb when released as a single.

There was something genuinely touching about Claire’s rendition of the song of Ready Made Life, the inevitability of settling for something slightly second hand, the ideals of taking on the responsibility of something that’s never truly yours had members of the audience reaching for their handkerchiefs as they felt every nuance of Claire’s performance.

There will be the inevitable criticisms from some quarters that it’s not a play that can appeal to both genders but if you’re willing to get passed the idea of it just being a story about a young woman trying to find her place in the world then it’s fascinating musical score and personality will have you empathising completely with the part.

A wonderful night of theatre and a show stopping performance by Claire Sweeney.

Ian D. Hall