It's a story that needs no introduction; a tale of betrayal, denial, suicide and death. As a huge fan of musicals, and with a more-or-less word perfect knowledge of Superstar, I found myself reflecting on how anybody could possibly not feel faint with joy at the prospect of this most tragic of stories being set to music and danced across the stage.

However, I think I may have found an answer. It's not that this was a lacklustre production, or that my (some have said infernal) love of musicals has been tainted by the experience, but in casting my critical eye over Bill Kenwright's show I have finally realised that watching a musical is rather like watching a well-loved video.

It is always the same.

This is simply the nature of musicals, and partly explains their fanatical following. They will never be cool. But they are so beyond cool that a musical loved at 10 will remain cherished at 80. Though of course the same can be said of a musical despised.

However, perhaps I am being unfair. This production did include some innovative features. Herod's song was incredibly well-played by Martin Callaghan, in a witty piece of choreography, and yet perhaps the most disturbing part of the show was watching this same comic character revelling almost sexually in Jesus' suffering during the lashes. There was also a newer song between Caiaphas (Steve Fortune) and Annas (Alistair Lee), which gave a much needed added depth to both characters.

As one would expect, there was a beautiful performance from Emma Dears as Mary, and James Fox as Judas undoubtedly had the X-factor, however Glenn Carter as Jesus was disappointing. His happy-clappy Jesus led the audience's sympathies towards Judas throughout, and it was unbelievable that Judas would want to get close enough to Jesus to 'betray him with a kiss'. However, Carter's performance of 'Gethsemane', perhaps because of his less sympathetic presentation of Jesus early on, left us with a profound sense of the mortality the man.

This is a show that relies heavily on its chorus; it is the mob that ultimately controls the action of the Romans, and it is when they turn on Jesus that he is lost. On the night I felt that the first two ensemble scenes were rather lacking in energy, however from the degradation of the temple onwards the chorus performed magnificently, capturing perfectly the mass hysteria and fickleness of the crowd, from 'Hosanna, Hey-sanna' to 'crucify him'.

If you like musicals then this will be an evening of joy, and if you don't then no review would ever be likely to make you go. This was a faithful and thoroughly enjoyable production which was visually impressive and made the most of the opportunities it had, within the restrictive outlines of the musical, to give a fresh twist to an old classic.