Sunshine on Leith

It's fitting that Sunshine on Leith, a jukebox musical featuring the songs of The Proclaimers, should break so many conventions of the genre. After all, the bespectacled Leith brothers are champions of individuality.

Here, arguably with just one or two exceptions, songs are woven into the story rather than the other way around. The script, by River City creator Stephen Greenhorn, is full of genuinely funny lines. Most surprisingly, the show's emotional crescendos don't coincide with uplifting key changes ' in fact, the most affecting moments aren't musical at all.

Perhaps this last observation shouldn't come as a surprise, given that the members of Dundee Rep Ensemble are actors first and foremost. That's not to say that the singing is sub-standard ' when a number calls for belting it is impressively delivered ' but rather that the quieter scenes are superbly acted.

The show's pacing is a little uneven, and the second half is at times almost unbearably sentimental, but ensemble numbers such as I'm On My Way (complete with a heel-clicking ned) and Let's Get Married (boisterously performed in a Hibs pub) are brilliantly staged.

It's a real thrill to hear Scottish accents when the characters burst into song. While the cast don't throw the r's away, they don't roll them either, or punch out the words as The Proclaimers have a tendency to.

The downside to this softer delivery is loss of clarity ' and a reminder of why musical theatre lyricists tend to keep things simple. The upside is that those who aren't keen on the defiantly broad tones of the brothers Reid may be pleasantly surprised to hear a fresh take on their songs.

It feels as though Greenhorn has had a lot of fun with Sunshine on Leith ' there are plenty of sly, witty references to football, television and Scotland/England rivalry.

The writer teases mischievously when he includes a conversation about a man travelling a fair distance to be with his new love then doesn't have him burst into I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles). He instead saves it for the finale, during which the cast can't quite seem to decide whether to stay in character or to let those rabble-rousing 'ba ba ba's take over.