Roll up, roll up! Come and see the freak show. We're back in the age of the New Romantics, the 1980s, when the outrageous, in fashion and fads, became the norm. At least, they did for Boy George and his entourage. And in this award-winning, rip-roaring musical version of his rise and drug-driven decline, we meet them all and experience the exuberance and excesses of the London nightclubs they frequented - the Blitz and, best of all, the Taboo.

"Freak" sings club organiser Philip Sallon (played with panache by Drew Jaymson) and the company up front. But there's much more to it than that. This is a cabaret-style, fun-filled, but penetrating look at a lifestyle which courted pop culture and rejected Thatcherite values. They came to live on Planet Ecstasy - and yet, they suffered inside. In a moving duet, George and love rival Kim (Ashleigh Gray) sing of the hurt in their eyes and the hidden tears - and George goes on to sing "Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?".

Boy George wrote the music and lyrics himself - and there isn't a dud amongst them. In an excellent company, Mark Little stars as the outlandish Leigh Bowery, doomed to die of Aids. As Boy George, Stephen Ashfield looks the part - and captures the life-changing emotions of his rise and fall and conversion to Krishna. James Gillan is a stunning Marilyn. There is some terrific singing all round, but Jacqui Rae stands out - her Independent Women is a wow.

The show has added value in the club-like confines of the Quays Theatre and there is some friendly interplay with the audience (including Julian Clary, scheduled to take over from Mark Little).

This is a memorable, must-see show - just let yourself go.

~ Philip Radcliffe