Singin' in the Rain, The Mayflower, Southampton

THE MAYFLOWER has a real hit with its latest show Singin' in the Rain.

The musical received thunderous applause last night from a delighted, if slightly damp, audience.

The biggest talking point of the show was the water special effects, which required the cast and some of the audience to be togged up in wet weather gear.

Singin' in the Rain was much more than a novelty show, thanks to a great script, wonderful songs and a stellar cast.

The show was a little slow going at first and looked in danger of being a damp squib but it soon picked up, thanks, in large part, to Darren Bennett's enthusiastic and engaging performance as Don Lockwood together with a fine supporting cast.

Singin' in the Rain is set in the twenties, as 'talkies' began to take over from silent movies.

The significance of the movies was emphasised with extensive use of video projection, which, although off-putting at times, was used to very good effect in capturing the difficulties of making talking pictures.

At its core it has a love triangle between Don Lockwood, a movie star, his prima donna leading lady Lina Lamont (Jacqui Rae), and the woman he loves, Kathy (Cheryl McAvoy), a struggling actress.

The story was told with the help of plenty of toe-tapping songs, including Good Morning, Moses Supposes and Singin' in the Rain.

Until June 8. Box office: 023 8071 1811.