MARY POPPINS

Prince Edward Theatre, until May 31. Tickets: 0844 482 5151

FIRST, a confession.As a young boy I was obsessed with the Mary Poppins movie.Walking into this show for the first time, my anxiety levels were in the red.

I was worrying needlessly.While not directly comparable with the film, this production is a triumph in its own right.

The story is the same – a magical nanny flies in to save the Banks’ family from ruin and restore love while teaching everyone a life lesson or two – but there are differences.

For one thing, the kids Jane and Michael (played on this night by Adelaide Barham and Gabriel Payne, both superb) are much brattier than their movie counterparts.

Mary Poppins (Zizi Strallen) is less sugary and more knowing than Julie Andrews. There are a few new songs and some different scenes – notably the Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious sequence set in a talking shop – but all the old favourites are present and correct.

Producer Cameron Mackintosh has left nothing to chance. Bob Crowley’s set unfolds like a giant origami doll’s house and the painted backcloths are works of art.

Richard Eyre directs in concert with ace choreographers Matthew Bourne and Stephen Mear, with illusions by magician Paul Kieve.

Scenes don’t so much change as explode in kaleidoscopes of colour from the Jolly Holiday sequence to the kitchen chaos scene.

At the heart of it all is the cast. Strallen is a terrific Poppins, gliding across the stage, singing with gusto and floating across the audience in an astonishing finale.

She is superbly partnered by Charlie Stemp as Bert, a