BOLD, bright and bouncy - this bouffant of a musical just gets bigger and better.

A fresh interpretation of Hairspray returns to Mayflower Theatre this week and it's two and a half hours of showstopping song and dance numbers performed by a brilliant cast who thoroughly deserved their standing ovation.

Hairspray was turned from a cult 1988 film to a Tony Award-winning Broadway musical in 2002. Five years later it was a film with songs and now it's out on the road once again, starring the delightful Freya Sutton who reprises her role as Tracy Turnblad. She has made it her own.

It's Baltimore in 1962 and Tracy, a big girl with big hair and a big heart, is determined to dance her way onto national TV, bagging teen heartthrob Link Larkin (Ashley Gilmour, channelling Elvis) and stand up for equality in still racially divided America along the way.

She's supported by her family, the brilliantly comical but wonderfully touching pair Edna (Tony Maudsley) and Wilbur Turnblad (Peter Duncan) as she wins a dance slot on the Corny Collins Show and lands herself in jail protesting against racial inequality.

Romance is in the air for mixed race couple Penny Pingleton (charmingly geeky, turned confident beauty Monique Young) and Seaweed (Dex Lee, a superb dancer who hit all the high notes.) They're supported by his vivacious Mum Motormouth Maybelle (Brenda Edwards, stunning vocals and rhyming fun), but initially rejected by hers.

The prejudice against them is embodied in the brilliantly bitchy Velma Von Tussle (perfectly portrayed by Claire Sweeney) and her daughter Amber (wonderfully sulky Lauren Stroud).

But love conquers all in this uplifting, warm and witty production, which boasts impeccable choreography, plenty of humour and huge hair.

This explosion of colour and costumes is larger than life and completely irresistible.

Hairspray runs until Saturday.

Tickets: 023 8071 1811 or visit mayflower.org.uk.