By Claire Daxter

Me and My Girl follows the standard formula for a good ol' musical comedy. There's a "happy ever after" love story, a loveable rogue taking on the stuffy establishment plotline and musical numbers which you can't help humming along to.

Nevertheless, the Musical Youth Company of Oxford brought an impressive freshness and enthusiasm to the show.

The cast of 60 is slickly choreographed and universally entertaining. I was particularly impressed with their voices. Louise Cobb is terrific as Sally Smith, with a mature and expressive voice worthy of the West End.

With the humour revolving around slapstick gags, and jokes which are mostly groaners, the pace could have slackened but strong lead performances never let this happen.

Alex Williams as Bill Snibson has brilliant comic timing and seemed completely at ease with the intricacies of cockney rhyming slang, having a laugh, sorry, "bubble bath", with the audience from start to finish.

There were also great performances from Howard Grater as the superbly camp "toff" Gerald Bolingbroke, and David Wilson as family solicitor Herbert Parchester - a gem of a part which was made even funnier by Wilson's inspired dance routine.

It was ambitious - 60 young people, all singing, all dancing, and all clicking spoons….it could have been a nightmare (or, as Bill would say, "a right old Weston Super Mare"). But it was the young company's enthusiasm that made for a very entertaining show.

The chorus seemed to gain strength with every thigh-slapping heel-stamping musical number....and as we reached the final rendition of the Lambeth Walk I couldn't stop my fingers clicking and my toes tapping. Well worth the bread and honey!