It’s been over 30 years since Kander and Ebb’s Kiss of the Spider Woman opened on Broadway and in London to rave reviews and great success – harvesting no fewer than seven Tony Awards including Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical and Best Original Score. Coinciding with the release of the new film version of the musical this week in the UK, Paul Foster’s extraordinary revival of the show at the Leicester Curve unearths a true hidden gem of musical theatre.

Adapted from Manuel Puig’s 1976 novel, which he himself adapted into a play in 1985, it tells the story of two prisoners in the same cell in a dingy, violent prison in Argentina. Molina, a window dresser, is in prison for sexual offences; his cellmate Valentin is a Marxist revolutionary whom the authorities torture to discover the identities of the rest of his cohort. Molina keeps his spirit up by engaging in a series of fantasy re-enactments about Aurora, the screen goddess of his youth, who appeared in so many glamorous movies; reliving them in his mind provides an escape from his desperate situation. At first, Valentin is very suspicious of Molina and cannot stand his company; but over time the two men form an unlikely bond, with Valentin also becoming entranced with the magnificent Aurora. The prison warden constantly puts pressure on Molina to get incriminating names from Valentin – but Molina is a loyal friend. Will he betray his cellmate?

You know those people who say musical theatre is just light-hearted, frothy entertainment, incapable of saying anything serious or meaningful? They’d learn a lesson or two here. Through the story of a developing relationship, the show poses questions of trust and integrity, self-respect and honesty, idealism and realism, and resilience and resistance. It asks to what extent fantasy can replace reality, and how much are you prepared to sacrifice for love. Spoiler alert: you won’t get any easy answers.

Few shows tell you you’re in the presence of something special within the first five minutes – but this production of Kiss of the Spider Woman is one of those rarities. Every element of the production is outstanding. Howard Hudson’s lighting design provides so many thrilling and simply beautiful effects. Gabriella Slade’s costumes are superb – especially those worn by Aurora and the Spider Woman. Andrzej Goulding’s video design delights and excites – those intricate spider web manifestations and the horror of the full black spider are just magnificent.

Matt Peploe’s eerie sound design constantly reminds you of the tortures taking place in this hellhole of a prison – and every single word of every single song is enunciated beautifully by the cast through the perfectly moderated amplification, so that we don’t miss a moment of those telling lyrics or that exceptional book. And, of course, Dan Glover’s amazing out-of-sight band deliver that tremendous score with more expression and guts than is decent for just six musicians.

Eleven members of the cast make you believe there’s at least twice that number of people on stage. The ensemble actors are the hardest working and most versatile group of performers you could imagine, playing prisoners, guards, movie dancers; you name it, they’ll do it. Joanna Goodwin’s expertly judged choreography is lively and dynamic and perfectly pitched for the relatively small acting space; and the dancing is outstanding.

All the acting is of the highest quality. Damian Buhagiar’s guard is an intensely brutal and violent presence – the stage combat by the way is exceptional. Tori Scott is perfectly cast as Molina’s mother and delivers her songs with powerful emotion, Jay Rincon is chillingly sadistic as the vengeful warden, and there’s excellent support from Gabriela Garcia as Valentin’s lover Marta and Davide Fienauri as Molina’s straight crush Gabriel.

The partnership of Fabian Soto Pacheco as Molina and George Blagden as Valentin just works brilliantly. The warmth that grows between them is totally believable, expressed with true intensity but also great subtlety. Their harmonies work perfectly, they both have remarkable stage presence, and they tell their characters’ stories with conviction; you feel their increased understanding of themselves and each other as the performance progresses.

As if all that wasn’t enough, the production is blessed with Anna-Jane Casey in the dual role of Aurora and the Spider Woman, an extraordinary performer who can turn her voice and high kicks to anything; here radiating star quality as the glorious Aurora with her big show numbers and then inhabiting the alarming and creepy presence of the Spider Woman, gliding sinisterly across the stage in a seduction of entrapment. You can’t help but beam with delight every time she comes on stage.

During the first couple of minutes of the interval, all Mrs Chrisparkle and I could say to each other was “wow”, followed by the occasional “just wow”. Convention limits me to five stars, but there’s an argument for more. If I was free, I’d go and see it again tomorrow in a heartbeat. Kiss of the Spider Woman plays at the Leicester Curve until April 25^th and then tours to the Bristol Old Vic 29^th April to 16^th May and the Southampton Mayflower from 2^nd to 6^th June.

Five Alive, Let Theatre Thrive!