North Norfolk gleefully welcomed prolific playwright John Godber's energetic 'Bouncers' to Sheringham on Friday night.

Refreshingly set in a 1980's Norfolk nightclub and sparklingly directed by Michelle Thompson, the show kicked off with a sublimely hilarious dance routine which immediately had the joint jumping and audience roaring.

The talented cast, Ashton Owen (Les), Charlie Randall (Ralph), Sam Thompson (Judd) and Harry Williams (Lucky Eric) - all products of Sheringham's youth theatre initiative - kept the ball rocking, rolling and indeed bouncing. This youthful quartet skilfully fashioned big, big laughs mixed with pathos, nostalgia and the wet sticky feeling of a spilled pint of Double Diamond dribbling down your chinos as we followed their exploits throughout a typical Saturday night.

With a nod to Godber's early impressionism leanings, the set was welcomingly stark with a simple black backdrop and four moveable beer barrels defining the parameters of the nightclub world. Black dinner suits, white shirts and dickies perfectly set the costume tone; an archetypal 1980's nightclub soundtrack enjoyably smattered the ears with cheese; and the trusted triad of disco lighting colours, strobe effects and an actual glitterball (yes!) beautifully added to the nostalgic atmosphere.

Even my partner who was ambivalent about going beforehand, looked at me wide-eyed after ten minutes and mouthed, 'Wow, this is great!' and as usual she was right. A fantastically entertaining show.

Performances: Saturday 2:30pm & 7:30pm. All tickets £10.00.

Tickets available online or by telephone on 01263 822347.

Box office open Saturday 9.30am - 4pm and again from 7pm.

CHRIS SADLER

-Bouncers ends this evening (Saturday, September 8). For more information, visit sheringhamlittletheatre.com