Reviews

Due to illness, Sleep will miss the majority of the show's run in Suffolk but it is hoped he will appear on Friday and Saturday. High Society finishes on Saturday 16 June, before ending its four-month national tour in Brighton.

Suitable stand in

Following the BBC programme Any Dream Will Do, the role of the understudy has been a major topic of conversation. Tony Stansfield did brilliantly playing Uncle Willie (who should have been played by Sleep) with a "confidence and savoir faire" Willie himself would be proud of.

Cole Porter's High Society

He seemed to know the role like he'd performed it every day of his life, and enjoyed every minute of it - I think many members of the audience didn't actually realise it wasn't Sleep himself!

In fact, the whole cast was brilliant, but this is a production that relies on a strong female lead, and in Isla Carter it had exactly that - she had us throwing our heads back with laughter at one moment and at others I even spied a few teary eyed audience members.

Paul Robinson blossomed in the second half as the story writer turned journalist ("imagine stooping so low?") and there were some moments of pure magic from David Alder as the butler.

Swell party

High Society is packed with familiar songs and I was tapping my foot and mouthing the words most of the way through.

The first half was a rollercoaster of emotions, from the fun of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? to the simplicity of True Love. The second half was a burst of energy from the start -Let's Misbehave - to the finale.

Fans of the traditional song and dance musical will love this Cole Porter show (whether or not Sleep returns to the cast) - it was just a shame there weren't more of them for such a Swell Party at its opening night.