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Published: 29 December, 2011
by RICHARD OSLEY

All you need to know is that this classsy production is pure five out of five stars, ten out of ten stuff. Upstairs At The Gatehouse theatre in Highgate Village is famed for the quality of its Christmas musicals but, for all the brilliance it has come up with in recent years, their current run of Guys and Dolls surely outdoes all of its past triumphs.

People may say that the source material – Damon Runyan’s delicious opposites-attract story of a lifetime gambler crossing paths with a Salvation Army sergeant struggling to tidy the streets of sinners – is hard to get wrong; that anybody with half a lung could sing Luck Be A Lady or Sit Down, You’re Rocking The Boat and have a good chance of getting toes tapping.

But this is West End quality on a stage just up the road and the imagination in the telling by director Racky Plews is supreme. We should count ourselves lucky there is a place like this two ticks from Pond Square.

The respect held for this playhouse in theatre world means they always command an experienced cast.

Jamie Sampson as chief gambler Sky Masterson connects with Amy Bailey as Sister Sarah like they’re dancing the rumba at the Palladium.

The combination is truly magical. But it’s not all about the leads. Chronic street dodger Nathan Detroit is a role that can be ruined if the wit of the character is overtaken by farce.

James Kermack avoids that pitfall. Rebecca Sutherland meanwhile threatens to steal the show as his long-suffering fiancée Miss Adelaide. Big eyes, big voice, you get lost in her lament.

There are so many reasons to recommend. Seriously, go see it.

• Upstairs at the Gatehouse, Highgate Village, N6, until Sunday January 29, 020 8340 3488, www.upstairsatthegatehouse.com/