DESPITE his eminent career in the pop world, David Essex has always been more than just a singer – as is evident from his performances in musicals such as Godspell, Evita and Aspects Of Love.

In All The Fun Of The Fair he plays Levi Lee, owner of a travelling funfair. Constantly moving on, it's a tough world.

Levi's wife Lizzie recently died in a motorcycle accident while riding the Wall Of Death. Levi blames himself, arguing that she momentarily lost concentration having discovered he was having an affair with fortune-teller Rosa.

Rosa would like to marry Levi, but she foretells disaster. Adding to Levi's woes is his rebellious teenage son Jack, whose tangled love life and ambitions for updating the funfair are disruptive, to say the least.

Here are all the ingredients for a tale that embraces tragedy, comedy and all stages in between.

It's a meaty story indeed, with convincing characters and events. The staging is simple but evocative, with highlights including dodgem cars and motorbikes, but when it comes down to it, this is still in essence a showcase for David Essex's music, and his fans won't be disappointed – either in choice of numbers or the singers.

Generally, those numbers slot neatly into the narrative, though some look as if they have been shoehorned in simply because they are too good to leave out.

All the portrayals carry the stamp of truth. As the ever-optimistic Levi, David Essex leads with an easy charm, but is well-matched by Paul-Ryan Carberry as troublesome son Jack and Louise English as Rosa, opening and closing the narrative with the haunting A Winter's Tale.

Stefan Butler tugs the heartstrings as the troubled Jonny. Tanya Robb and Emma Thornett play Alice and Mary, the ladies in Jack's life, and David Burrows is Alice's thuggish father, assisted by Barry Bloxham as his vicious sidekick Druid.

A good night out, and not just for David Essex devotees.