Mamma Mia

we loved the whole evening: left the kids with hubbies/partners and 10 of us got in the tube to watch this feel-good musical. Did not regret it at all!!! highly recommended.

Gazillions of people worldwide have already seen the musical Mamma Mia, which is currently playing at the Prince of Wales Theatre in London's West End. On the incredibly slim chance that you don't know what Mamma Mia is, it's a romantic musical using ABBA songs (which has also been made into a film, starring, among others, Meryl Streep and Colin Firth).

This is a production that doesn't take itself too seriously, aims to entertain 100% and does so. If you go with a sense of humour and a love of ABBA songs, you won't go far wrong. Actually, if you go with an irony bypass and not much affection for the 70s Swedish chart-toppers, you'll still come out with a grin on your face and humming Waterloo.

The audience ranged from small children (some dressed head to toe as Frida and Agnetha) to grandparents (the mature gent next to us sang along softly and earnestly to I Have a Dream) plus everyone - hen parties etc - in between.

It's child-friendly in that the songs are loud and catchy, and the 'romance' is not exactly raunchy. Sub-plots (older woman, younger man etc) probably go straight over their heads, but whether your child will grasp a plot based on a girl trying to find out which of three men might be her father is a matter for personal parental judgement!

Impressionable youngsters may be scarred by the noise levels and the sight of oldies clad in unforgiving sparkly Lycra, according to my teen, but the children in the audience the night we went seemed to be having a good time (and some of them were obviously enraptured by the whole thing).

The show rattles along, has some great ensemble dance numbers, packs in all everyone's fave ABBA tunes (Super Trouper, Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes It All, SOS etc) and there's a chance for everyone to dance and sing along in the finale.

If you need a family outing spanning different generations, this is a safe bet. As the character Rosie sings, Take a Chance on Me.