The triumphant return of Sister Act most definitely raised its voice at the opening night at The Dominion Theatre. The movie Sister Act written by Joseph Howard; flows seamlessly from screen to stage; this is beautifully done by Cheri and Bill Steinkellner, with music by Alan Menken and lyrics by Glen Slater. They all honour the original source material, keeping the original film’s message of love and sisterhood at the heart of it.

When struggling lounge singer Deloris Van Cartier accidentally ends up witnessing her boyfriend Curtis murder someone, she is forced to go into witness protection in the last place anyone would think to look for her: a convent. It’s here she meets Mother Superior and they clash over their very different ideals and values.

Morgan Large’s set design perfectly filled the space it was given with the elaborate sets designed to facilitate each setting. A grand stained glass window was cleverly concealed whenever we were out of the convent. Large’s set design is perfectly partnered with Tim Mitchell’s extravagant lighting display creating soft, cold and disco lighting which never feels too much.

Beverly Knight takes control of the stage and commands the audience’s attention each time she steps out onto it. There are no words to truly convey the amount of talent and hard work Knight has put into this production. She effortlessly portrays Deloris as a strong-willed determined woman and brings a new life to the character whilst also honouring Whoopi Goldberg’s original incarnation. A special mention has to be said for Lizzie Bea whose turn as Sister Mary Robert’s was awe-inspiring. The sensitivity in her voice is pushed aside when it’s her time to take centre stage in ‘The Life I Never Led’; the power she has vocally is unmatched.

Though not the strongest vocally, Ruth Jones triumphed in showing true emotion during ‘Here Within These Walls’. This was a strong contrast to ‘I Haven’t Got A Prayer’ where she was able flex her comedic chops.

Curtis and his henchmen were portrayed as almost pantomime-esque villains throughout the production; this creative choice for Curtis at times took away from the dramatic scenes between himself and Deloris. However, Lemar gave a strong West End debut in the role of Curtis with his soulful tones. ‘Lady In The Long Dress’ was a brilliant piece of comic relief with Bradley Judge (TJ), Damian Buhagiar (Pablo) and Tom Hopcroft (Joey) leaving the audience in hysterics.

Bill Buckhurst’s seamless direction allows each character a moment to take centre stage. Buckhurst’s ingenious directional choice in allowing Ruth Jones to basque in all her Welsh glory was a delight and joy for any Gavin & Stacey fan; especially with Mother Superior’s first word being ‘Oh’. Alistair David’s choreography is pure joy, wonderfully combining fast and frenetic movement, succeeding in a fast paced show, never once feeling messy.

The spectacular finale was a glorious ending to a high energetic show that never faulted in its pace and delivery. But we could not talk about the finale without a special mention to the costume department who have created a sparkly rainbow through the use of multicoloured habits worn by each Nun.

Watching this joyous show made me reflect on my university’s performance of this wonderful show (with Stage Door Joe himself). The contagious and catchy tunes were hard to resist but I succeeded in controlling my desire to jump onto that stage and sing along.

To conclude, this production of Sister Act is exceptional. Beverly Knight undoubtedly shines like a star on that stage but she was not alone, as she truly shone in a sky full of stars!

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