Teen Scream - Scary Musical!

It must be murder performing a musical in an 11am Fringe slot, but the cast of Teen Scream - Scary Musical gave a tremendous performance on opening morning.

When word gets round about just how smart, funny and slickly performed this show is, energy levels in the Assembly Music Hall should go through the roof.

An all-singing, all-dancing pastiche-of-a-parody of the slasher genre, this is a glossy, very well-rehearsal musical that definitely wouldn't be out of place on the touring schedules.

Its target audience might be more at home in a multiplex, but you don't get to sing (or indeed stab) along at the cinema. Tickets for the four weekend performances are bound to go fast, so those who have headed back to school this week should book now.

Don't be misled by the presence of tween heartthrob Jon Lee (S Club 7) - like the films it emulates, this is a 15-certificate scarefest that adults of a certain inclination will also enjoy. Written by The Heather Brothers (A Slice of Saturday Night), it owes its biggest debts to Scream, Friday 13th and Grease. The song and dance numbers are an absolute treat, performed with gusto and very good diction by a superb cast of all-rounders.

The necessary twists, red herrings and mixed demographic are all present and correct (an able-bodied girl very grudgingly playing a wheelchair-bound character provides plenty of cynical chuckles). As for the ending - well, it's a scream. Like the entire slasher genre, Teen Scream won't be to everyone's taste, but I absolutely loved it.