If someone mentions a Scottish nanny, I hope it’s not just me who automatically thinks of the 1993 hit film ‘Mrs Doubtfire’. Well, it’s back and it’s back with a bang in a brand new musical which excels in comedy, sympathy and so much feel good factor!

When you think of the motion picture, you can’t help but think of the late, great Robin Williams too, so the newly cast title role has a difficult act to follow. However, Gabriel Vick is a revelation as the cross-dressing Daniel Hillard & Mrs Doubtfire.

The story is a simple one. When Hillard is told by his ex-wife Miranda (Laura Tebbutt) that he can’t see his children anymore, he enlists the help of brother Frank (Cameron Blakely) and Frank’s partner Andre (Marcus Collins) to help him disguise as a Nanny so that he can still spend as much time as possible with his kids. The journey isn’t easy though and hilarity ensues when both his personas need to be in the same place at the same time, leaving his biggest secret exposed and his life in jeopardy. There may be no ‘happy ending’ as such but the messages of learning from mistakes and ‘as long as there is love’, as the final song dictates, there is a pleasant moral to the piece.

Brothers Wayne and Karey Kirkpatrick’s music and lyrics may not be catchy but they are perfectly written. Jerry Zak’s direction is slick, fast-moving and poignant which matches Lorin Latarro’s beautifully energetic choreography. Lisa Mathieson takes on Associate Choreography duties but is also in the cast and gives an almost show-stopping performance as the zestful Flamenco Singer in Act 2.

The children are outstandingly cute and Carla Dixon-Hernandez as Hillard’s eldest child, Lydia, is given some beautiful songs and has a beautiful voice to match. Blakely’s Frank Hillard brings some nice comedy moments to the production but Marcus Collins’ sassy Andre goes under the radar until the finale when he is suddenly allowed to riff and belt, and rightly too.

But it’s the loveable Gabriel Vick who steals the show with a bewitching performance of high energy, impeccable comedy and exceptional comic impressions, which he blitzes through one after another at sweltering pace in one particularly frantic scene. He barely leaves the stage and quick changes to and from Doubtfire with ease, mostly under the watchful eye of the audience. It’s satisfyingly amazing to see him transform so easily. Catherine Zuber’s costume design is pitch perfect and imitates the film just as the audience want. Some strange breaking of the fourth wall by Vick is a little odd at times but the audience respond willingly and he has them in the palm of his hands from the start.

A clever scene involving the ensemble creating a YouTube style cookery routine brings this show right up to date and the whole cast shine in such an entertaining production that it’s hard to not leave London’s Shaftesbury Theatre with a smile on your face. 

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