IF you're looking for a lighthearted night out, look no further.

Anything Goes, which toured to the New Victoria Theatre, Woking, last week, is a colourful mix of zippy Cole Porter songs, engaging dancing and slick comedy.

From silly ass Lord (Michael Chance), to comic baddie Moonface Martin (Billy Boyle), the humour is both sly and joyous.

Providing the show-stopping element is Gemma Craven who gives "New York's most notorious evangelist" full melodious throttle.

Jonathon Morris is the romantic lead in this mild love tangle set aboard a 1930s transatlantic liner. The object of his affections is Hope (Sophia Thierens) who, naturally, is engaged to someone else.

The plot is mere window dressing. In a Cole Porter musical, especially one based on a PG Wodehouse story, could there ever be anything but a happy ending?

With such classic songs as Friendship, You're The Top, Easy To Love and I Get a Kick Out of You, only a churl could fail to be entertained by the slick staging and vibrant choreography.

The decks are awash with comic moments provided not only by a ludicrously funny Atlantic swimmer, but also by a uniformly talented cast including Shelly Otway as vamp Erma and Antony Howes as the chirpy, diminutive ship's captain.

The immensely likeable Billy Boyle captivates the audience with his performance as the singing gangster and Maitland Chandler as elderly, inebriated millionaire Elisha Whitney, adds an almost surreal touch to the proceedings.

There's even a swimming pool, complete with water, although the hapless dancers seemed a touch apprehensive as they hoofed their way through it.

Even the orchestra, behind semi-opaque screens on the top "deck" gets in on the act with musical director Richard Holmes aiding and abetting a bravura second-act overture.

If you want to jump aboard for a fun voyage, Anything Goes will be at Southampton's Mayflower Theatre from May 21-26 and at Richmond from June 18-23.

Sandy Baker