Billed as Billy Elliot for the Kinky Boots generation, Everybody's Talking About Jamie introduces us to the newest superstar of British musical theatre with plenty of heart, wit and a fantastic score that'll spawn more than a few standards in the coming years - It's about time too!

Led by the magnetic John McCrea, this joyous based-on-a-true-story tale of a young gay lad from Sheffield with dreams of Drag Queen stardom starts with aplomb, throwing you into the action and Jamie's world with the fabulous opening number 'And You Don't Even Know It' casting his schoolmates as fans and extras in his mind.

John is a likeable leading man, backed by an energetic and talented chorus, and where his voice is not super strong, there are plenty of fantastic performances from the supporting cast including a belter, 'He's My Boy' from Josie Walker as his ever-supportive mum Margaret and the thoroughly moving 'Beautiful' from Lucy Shorthouse as best friend Pritti.

As Jamie transforms into his high-heeled alter ego, Mimi Me, there are bumps and scrapes along the way, many laughs (most courtesy of the shining Mina Anwar as Ray and some of his fellow, slightly older Drag pals), and also some honest moments that pull at the tear ducts, it's not all plain sailing. Although it might lack the dramatic bite of Billy Elliot, Jamie definitely shares Kinky Boots' jubilant sense of fun, as well as its message of acceptance and being yourself.

Dan Gillespie-Sells and writer Tom MacRae should be very proud of themselves on this one. The changing face of acceptance and visibility for the LGBT community is accounted for here, showing just how much we've evolved as a society. This show is everything the world needs right now.

@ThisIsKittyMac

Everybody's Talking About Jamie is now showing at the Apollo Theatre.