Does the world really need another production of Guys and Dolls? This Chichester transfer garnered rave reviews in its original incarnation. For my part, I still recall fondly the recent production with Douglas Hodge. It is, of course, a cracking musical with great songs and a superior book and it’s always a pleasure to see it. This production was very enjoyable, but there wasn’t much novelty to it.

The cast was delightful. It was great fun to see Sophie Thompson as Adelaide and David Haig as Nathan Detroit, the first time they have acted together as a couple since their immortal Lydia and Bernard in Four Weddings and a Funeral. Siubhan Harrison was a charming Sarah Brown and Jamie Parker a really excellent Sky Masterson. The supporting cast were also very good.

Guys and Dolls is about a somewhat anarchic prewar New York, where the archetypal guys and dolls drink, gamble and generally enjoy themselves, and Sarah Brown’s mission (clearly modelled on the Salvation Army) attempts to save their souls. Masterson takes a bet from Detroit that he can’t get Sarah to accompany him to Havana. They go, of course, have a lovely evening and discover that they are very much attracted to each other. Their respective lifestyles seem destined to tear them apart, until Masterson makes one last gamble on love. The songs are the heart of this musical, with “A Bushel and a Peck,” “Adelaide’s Lament,” “Luck be a Lady,” and “Sit Down You’re Rocking the Boat” hands down classics.

Sophie Thompson is an excellent comic actress, and she didn’t disappoint here. She was, perhaps, a little more subdued than I would have liked to have seen. Her singing was secondary to the comedy, and so I would have liked a little more breadth. But her wistfulness added an interesting tone to Adelaide that I hadn’t seen before, and it was overall a very good performance. David Haig was also very good, although I would have liked to see a little more chemistry between the two. I enjoyed Haig’s performance as the craps game facilitator rather more than his interactions with Thompson. I believed that Thompson loved him, but not necessarily the reverse.

Siubhan Harrison was a lovely and charming Sarah Brown with a beautiful voice. She acted well, as you could just see how she was falling for Sky and the subtle turn of her lips as she found it hard to keep from laughing at his ploys. Jamie Parker was similarly restrained in his attraction, but it was clear. He is an excellent actor, and we are lucky to have him on the London stage. The two had superlative chemistry, and that is what really makes or breaks a production of Guys and Dolls. Parker is more an actor than a singer, but I was generally impressed with his singing when it was in the tenor range. He had lovely, dare I say Sinatra-esque phrasing and a beautiful tone. He is not, however, a baritone, and when the songs dipped into a lower register his projection suffered.

The ensemble was also very good, with lovely singing and dancing throughout. The sets were a little basic for the West End but generally good. I enjoyed myself thoroughly and am perhaps a little churlish in looking for novelty. When a production is as charming and well put together as this one, why quibble?