TEN years ago, young mum of three Louise Roche went to see a musical at the theatre and came home thinking “I can do that!”

The result is a runaway hit in this country and the US, packing in mainly female audiences for an evening of sisterly bonding, accompanied by such girlie anthems as I Will Survive and It’s Raining Men.

Set in a Milton Keynes nightclub and using flashbacks to enable narrator Sharon to fill in the background, the slim plot involves five women gathering for an engagement party. The mother of the brideto- be is Sharon, who cheerfully explains that she’s a ghost, having fallen off the back of a moped 20 years ago.

The audience enthusiastically joins in the singing, which is just as well since none of the actors has a serious singing voice, but the backing tracks effectively cover any inadequacies and it’s all good fun. Karaoke with jokes, really – old ones, about Tampax and vaginal discharge, and dancing round your handbag. It’s feminist, but not too aggressively so.

There are some entertainments specifically aimed at women which are far more offensive than this one, and the numerous songs are sad and weepy or strong and brave, by turns.

The ladies in the audience felt sufficiently empowered to venture into the Gents’ loo in the interval, since all four of the men present (two of whom were press) had been forewarned.

• Until Saturday. Box office 01325-486555 and online darlingtonarts.co.uk

Review: Sue Heath