Grease, The Mayflower, Southampton

GREASE was the word at The Mayflower last night when the hit musical opened to an ecstatic audience.

From the opening bars to the final bow, the capacity venue was filled with the sounds of enthusiastic applause and a fair bit of hand jiving.

The musical, which, preceded the film of the same name, follows the story of two young lovers who are even more star-crossed than Romeo and Juliet.

Sandy is the straight-laced good girl while Danny just loves being bad - and on top of their differences, they have to make it through high school!

The show was filled to bursting with hit songs that no one could resist clapping along to, including Summer Nights, You're the One that I Want and Grease is the Word.

The fantastic songs were complemented by breathtaking energetic dance routines which made you wonder how so many pop stars justify miming because they are vaguely shuffling while these performers were singing their hearts out and (literally) dancing their shoes off at the same time.

The lead performers all made the roles their own, particularly the crowd-pleasing Craig Ubani, who played Danny as a cross between Elvis, John Travolta and The Fonz.

Haley Flaherty also shone as the shy Sandy and Nina French delighted the audience with her bad girl Rizzo.

The stars were magnetic, the show was energetic, - why, it was greased lightning!

Grease is on until May 18. Call the box office on: 023 8071 1811.