All The Fun Of The Fair *** TNT

What’s left of the curly dark hair is grey, but David Essex’s eyes still twinkle and although his voice has gravelled with age, this funfair musical woven around his ’70s hit songs surely has a nostalgic audience ready and waiting to listen to them all over again.

There’s not much depth here, but forget your critical faculties and you’re in for an enjoyable, tender-hearted fairground ride with a handful of younger performers.

Garrick Theatre, WC2H 0HH ( Leicester Square) 0844 412 4662 until Sep 5(£25-£55) garrick-theatre.co.uk

Unedited version

What’s left of the curly dark hair is grey, but David Essex’s eyes still twinkle and although his voice has gravelled with age, this funfair musical woven round his 70’s hit songs surely has a nostalgic audience ready and waiting to listen to them all over again.

An illicit affair, the dying days of the Wall of Death, plus a father and son at odds about almost everything are crammed into under two hours, along with over 20 of Essex’s hits. There’s not much depth here, but forget your critical faculties and you’re in for an enjoyable, tender-hearted fairground ride with a handful of younger performers – including Michael Pickering’s two-timing, athletic Jack and Tim Newman’s mentally challenged Slow Jonny – who hit the notes the charismatic Essex can no longer reach.