IT’S delightful, delicious, de-lovely and definitely worth hopping aboard!

Anything Goes, Cole Porter’s classic musical set aboard a transatlantic luxury liner, has set anchor at Southampton Mayflower and caused quite a splash!

At 80 years of age this grand old lady of the musical high seas can still leave you giddy with its uplifting songs, breath-taking tap routines and riotous cast of comic characters.

It’s a simple nautical tale, frothing with fun and high jinks. When Billy Crocker discovers that his heart’s desire, debutante heiress Hope Harcourt is engaged to an English aristocrat, he stows away aboard the SS American to win her back. Aided by a string of eccentric passengers the race is on to untangle this web of love before they reach Southampton!

Written by PG Wodehouse during The Great Depression at the tail end of Prohibition the show is a celebration of the unregulated hedonistic lifestyle of the high seas.

The protagonist Wall Street broker Billy Crocker – played by a charismatic Matt Rawle is “the tops”

teamed up with the de-lovely Zoe Rainey as Hope. But the electrifying Debbie Kurup dazzles as nightclub singer Reno Sweeney, completely owning the stage with powerful vocals and knockout moves.

Southampton’s own Stephen Matthews meanwhile (last seen at the Mayflower playing Lumiere in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast) is an absolute hoot as the dotty, English aristocrat Evelyn Oakleigh.

Benidorm star Hugh Sachs proved his versatility and natural comic talent as Moonface Martin.

Richard Kent’s Art Deco set complete with sailors scaling a back wall and the ship seemingly on its end to suggest the SS American is sinking fast, works a treat.

With songs like I Get a Kick Out of You , You’re The Top and It’s DeLovely in the first half-hour alone the audience is riding on the crest of a wave by the interval. And there are further musical highs in the form of Blow Gabriel Blow, capturing the full force of the sea storm, and the utterly fabulous tap dancing ensemble number Anything Goes.

Directed by Daniel Evans with choreography by Alistair David it’s one show you won’t want to miss.

HILARY PORTER