Gypsy review: Imelda Staunton is ridiculously brilliant

The West End is finally staging Jule Styne, Stephen Sondheim and Arthur Laurent's Gypsy 42 years after Angela Lansbury led the production in 1973 - and it's worth the wait.

Lansbury - who was in attendance at last night's premiere at the Savoy - must have been impressed by Jonathan Kent's restoration, and particularly by lead star Imelda Staunton in what is possibly her finest performance to date.

Following last year's Chichester production, the venue was perfect for presenting the bygone era of vaudeville and for bringing the audience closer to Momma Rose's desperate dream of turning her daughters into stars.

Despite being created in 1959 and its 1920s setting, the themes of missed chances, lost youth and longing to be noticed still hit home hard in 2015, especially with Staunton's incredibly moving and powerful performance of a woman who has lost all sense of love and respect when searching for stardom.

This desperation eventually leads Rose to turn her shy, quieter daughter Louise (Sherlock's Lara Pulver) into one of the biggest burlesque strippers on the planet. She has finally got the dream she wanted, but was it worth it? Is that all there is?

Staunton is ridiculously brilliant as Rose, turning from comedy to anguish to romance to anger quite magnificently. You instantly warm to her when she first appears with the cutest dog in the world, and still root for her by the end despite her misgivings and pretty dreadful treatment of her children for her own selfish gain.

It's very rare that you see an actor get a standing ovation before the end of the first act, but Staunton most definitely deserved hers.

At first, Pulver felt slightly miscast as the vulnerable Louise, having seen her as the provocative Irene Adler in Sherlock. But as the play progress, it becomes clear that she has the perfect mixture of a childlike innocence that later turns into a stern diva.

Doctor Who icon Peter Davison is great in the role of Herbie, Rose's long-suffering would-be husband, and the pair create a beautiful little partnership. However, he doesn't quite match his castmates in the singing department, but this is a minor niggle.

There are also great performances from the supporting cast, in particular Julie Legrand as a befuddled secretary and greasy stripper, and Scarlet Roche as the young squeaky-clean 'Baby' June.

Anthony Ward's staging is simple but surprisingly creative at the same time, while Stephen Mear's choreography is excellent, in particular the moment where the young June, Louise and the boys turn into adults via the use of flashing lights and a clever routine.

The musical is a genuine treat from start to finish, with excellent songs, a flawless orchestra and one of the most emotionally powerful performances you're like to see all year in Imelda Staunton.