The World Goes Round: The Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough

You can be forgiven if the names Kander and Ebb don’t ring any bells; they don’t with a surprising number of people. They’re not as familiar as, say, Rogers and Hammerstein, or Rice and Lloyd Webber, or even Lerner and Loewe. Yet, go and see The World Goes Round, and you’ll come out wondering why – and humming happily.

The excellent five-strong cast – Phoebe Fildes, Laura Jane Matthewson, Nigel Richards, Ashley Samuels and Shona White – sing their way through more than two dozen songs with music by John Kander, lyrics by Fred Ebb. Many of the songs are in themselves miniature plays – vignettes that tell entire stories within a few skilful minutes.

There’s the pathos of Mr Cellophane – even more relevant now than when it was written in 1975, for Chicago; the comedy and biting accuracy of The Grass is Always Greener, originally sung on Broadway by Lauren Bacall; and the frighteningly pertinent The Money Song, immortalised by Joel Grey in Cabaret, but here sung with an even grittier edge.

The entire evening is pure entertainment. Yes – it is "just songs". But what songs – and how brilliantly presented. The whole performance is underpinned, by talented pianist and musical director Neil MacDonald. It is tempting to call him the star of the show, but they were all stars, and this is a show that is well worth catching.

* The World Goes Round is at the SJT to Saturday, September 3. Ticket: £10 to £24.50. Box Office: 01723-370541 or sjt.uk.com

Gilly Collinson