AUDIENCES rejoice! Sister Act is returning to Southampton next week, directed by Craig Revel Horwood and starring Alexandra Burke.

The all new production of the hit musical comedy is at Mayflower Theatre from Tuesday until June 17.

The 2008 X Factor winner will make the perfect Deloris Van Cartier, her apt first single Hallelujah having broken sales records. Burke last appeared at Mayflower Theatre in 2015 when she opened the UK tour of The Bodyguard.

She will be directed and choreographed by Strictly Come Dancing judge Revel Horwood, whose previous tours of Fiddler on the Roof and Chess were successfully staged in Southampton.

Based on the smash hit movie starring Whoopi Goldberg and Maggie Smith, Sister Act tells the hilarious story of Deloris Van Cartier, a disco diva whose life takes a surprising turn when she witnesses a murder.

Under protective custody she is hidden in the one place she won’t be found – a Convent! Disguised as a nun and under the suspicious watch of Mother Superior, Deloris helps her fellow sisters find their voices as she unexpectedly rediscovers her own.

Sister Act features original music by the eight time Oscar and Tony Award winner Alan Menken. The all new production has musical supervision and arrangements by Tony Award winning Sarah Travis.

Speaking ahead of the show, the three time BRIT nominee told the Daily Echo: "It's a real favourite of mine and a favourite of a lot of people, Saying that, I haven't seen the film in a very long time. I deliberately didn't watch the film once I'd got this part. I didn't want to copy anything Whoopi Goldberg did, which is so difficult with iconic roles like this. I wanted to really crack the role and be as original as I can, even though Whoopi has always been a big inspiration to me.

"I would say my Deloris is very bold and a little bit divaish when she meets the nuns in the convent. But she has a big heart and once she realises that love conquers all, she's the heart of the show."

A full interview with Alexandra Burke appears in tomorrow's Seven Days, free with the Daily Echo.

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