Review: Jet Set Go! at the Jermyn Street Theatre

Anyone who has ever experienced the joys - or woes - of transatlantic flying may wish to fasten their seat belts and head off to see a new musical that takes its audience on a flight from London to New York and back again. That is precisely the theatrical experience created by Jet Set Go! (currently playing to capacity audiences at the Jermyn Street Theatre). This "cabin crew musical" is a sheer delight from take-off to landing.

Jake Brunger's book is witty, insightful and clever with each of the show's eight characters perfectly defined. Granted there are many stereo-types on show - the camp steward, the none-too-bright Welsh stewardess, the miserably cynical pilot, the bitchy Puerto-Rican stewardess, etc. But the subtlety of sub-text in the writing is such that it always rises above cliché and the sheer exuberance of the humour wins over the audience throughout. Added to that is Pippa Cleary's tuneful, sometimes haunting and always highly enjoyable score.

Aided by Mike Lees' evocative yet functional set design, director/choreographer Luke Sheppard makes clever use of every inch of the theatre's intimate space and drives the action along at the perfect pace throughout. Everything about his production is slick, smooth and sophisticated.

The entire cast give highly energised performances, singing and dancing their hearts out and delivering each comically barbed one liner with perfect timing and precision. Mark Evans (as the "straight" appearing gay steward, Richard) provides the show's most poignant moment with his beautiful vocal rendition of the song "If I Could Find A Boy". And Amy Coombes (as Welsh stewardess Hayley) brings the house down with her knock-out performance of the show-stopping comically risqué number, "A Simple Valley Song".

This is a fantastic crowd-pleaser of a show. It will appeal to anyone who has ever experienced air travel or anyone who loves witty, melodic and entertaining musical theatre - or anyone who has a pulse!

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