Legally Blonde - this touring revival passes with honours

★★★★★

This revival of Legally Blonde is big, bold and beautiful.

Amber Davies as Elle Woods, photo by Marc Brenner

There's a palpable excitement in the theatre. Much of the run (and it is rather lengthy - thank God) has already sold out. And here, on its first press night, giddy audiences dressed up in pink and all of its glorious shades, fashion a sea of Elle's signature colour. The band, directed by Cerys McKenna, launch into Laurence O'Keefe and Nell Benjamin's modern masterpieces of peppy pop tunes with mega musical theatre hooks as Colin Richmond's rosy set design blows us into Elle's world, the semi-circle curves like a bubble lit with West Coast neon (catwalk lighting by Ben Cracknell).

A selection of dollshouses is used to place us in California with Lego-like palm trees, in Elle's pink-clad dorm room and the comparably serious halls of Harvard Law, furthering the Malibu Barbie essence of the fashion-forward feminists. Speaking of - Tom Rogers dresses Elle in classic Chanel-esque boxy tweed two pieces, and her entourage (special shoutout to the Greek chorus: Hannah Lowther, Rosanna Harris and Remi Ferdinand, who are every inch the modern woman's agony aunt) in neon platform sneakers, gym shorts and faux fur laden with Moschino fluffy bag charms. The serious students are stoic in their angular double-breasted blazers and pleated skirts (Annabelle Terry is a smizing Vivienne), a world away from Paulette's (a very loveable Karen Mavundukure) flared denim and leopard print blouses. The cherry literally on top of all of these styles? Sam Cox's masterful wigs, hair and make-up design. All, minus the perms, perhaps, are an object of envy. Everything looks filter-flattering without ever falling flat.

As stylish as it all is, it's matched by stamina. Miss Davies, comma, Amber, is utterly, comma, perfect as the lovestruck lawyer-in-training. The epitomisation of a pink fluffy pen, she more than gets the job done; she does it with effortless poise, her voice crystalline, her comedic timing exceptional. She can move, too. Leah Hill's choreography is totally trendable and the entire cast devours it. The Delta Nu girls bodypop like KPop Demon Hunters while looking as wide-eyed as Powerpuff Girls - "Omigod" even references Beyoncé's flash of the ring finger.

These little hints of modernisation from director Nikolai Foster are done with a light touch. Brooke (Jocasta Almgill is a force) sips out of a bedazzled Stanley Cup after the heart-racing "Whipped Into Shape", Elle snaps selfies in class, and Callahan (Adam Cooper) declares he doesn't understand Instagram. Kitsch touches like a cuddly toy claw and a Coca-Cola vending machine feel early noughties, an ode to the cult classic the material has become. With Elle and the dream-chasing Paulette's (Mavundukure's "Ireland" stops the show) friendship at its heart, the male characters (minus the dogs - a yappy little Bruiser and remarkably chill Rufus), wannabe Warner (Jamie Chatterton) and eager Emmett (George Crawford), are pushed slightly to one side in this revival - and despite their fine performances, it's all the more fun for it.

With as much attitude as a stuffed shoulder pad, this bona fide five-star bubblegum hit passes with honours.