If you are hoping to see children in duffle coats huddled together against the wind with kittens in their pockets you won't find them here.

Whistle Down the Wind was originally a novel by Mary Hayley Bell, turned into a film by the young Richard Attenborough and Bryan Forbes of Beaver Films. Much later it was even adapted into a BBC radio play. It is about growing up and finding out that rather than goodness prevailing over so-called evil, as we assume when we are young, the truth is more blurred and life does not proceed in a pattern of such opposites.

In its latest adaptation, the story has been transposed into a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, with lyrics by Jim Steinman.

The main characters are three siblings who discover an escaped prisoner hiding in their barn but mistake him for Jesus. They look after him and choose not to question their belief even though he blasphemes and asks them to carry out dangerous errands. In the original film version the actor did have a beard and so they could be forgiven for not catching on quicker, however…

In this version the story is set in 1950s Deep South, as opposed to Lancashire. The only reason for this as far as I could see was in order to draw a parallel between the racial prejudice of that era, and the blindness of the faith of the Christian community in their determination to label a person as either good or evil, and although this theme was made very obvious at the beginning, it unexpectedly sputtered out early in the second half, which was disappointing.

Regardless of comparisons with the film, the musical itself isn't spectacular. The songs were not very original sounding and the lyrics, which were somewhat repetitive, didn't really make a lot of sense. I found myself wishing they had thought up different words that might show they had actually been inspired by the meaning and passion that is there in the story.

Very unfortunately, the cast were hamstrung somewhat by these shortfalls, as on the whole they were actually very good. The crystal clear piping voices of the main characters sent shivers down one's spine, and you could definitely see that they were all trying their best to bring the musical to life. This reviewer needed more but those with less specific expectations may be satisfied.

Pip Johnson.