Priscilla Queen of the Desert The Musical - Altrincham Garrick

DYNAMIC young director Joseph Meighan makes a welcome return to the stage with his and this theatre's best production to date.

You simply must not miss this vocal and visual treat, packed full of outrageous humour and costumes so unashamedly camp your eyes could easily pop out when you see them.

Inspired by a movie that I would certainly rank as a modern day classic it's the tale of two drag queens and a transgender woman who journey across Australia to perform their unique brand of cabaret.

As you can imagine they encounter prejudice along the way - small town means small minds in too many places - and one of them faces the daunting prospect of being re-united with his young son.

Beneath the laughter are serious messages about the need to look beyond our differences and live together in harmony. But no point in the evening do you feel preached to, thanks Stephen Elliott and Allan Scott's first class script. Some of the dialogue, the put downs in particular, are both priceless and brilliant.

This brings me on to the performance of the three leads, Todd Bennett (Tick/Mitzi), Rhys Nuttall (Adam/Felicia) and Mark Butt, who is a revelation as the transsexual Bernadette. I really liked the way he played the scenes with Bob, the trio's unlikely knight in shining armour, a perfectly cast Ivor Farley.

Todd Bennett also treats us to an inspired rendition of the timeless classic MacArthur Park, which came mighty close to bringing the house down.

With a score that's sure to have Victor Meldrew tapping his feet and a musical director in the shape of none other than Mark Goggins, Altrincham Garrick has a huge hit on its hands. You simply must see this - at least twice. What a way to end a season.

* Until May 26. The box office is on 0161 928 1677. Star rating - *****