The idea is a nifty one, sufficiently uncluttered to structure a short piece of theatre but offering, too, a handful of fresh characters to engage the kids and carers who flock regularly to The Court’s holiday productions. 

Playing on the fashion nous of today’s youngsters, the show opens with our Emperor (Chris Mc Rae) strutting his stuff under the similarly self-promoting attention of his chief fashion designer (Emma Cusdin). All very colourful and sophisticated, with poses and show-offs galore, until, oh horror, he reaches the undergarment, a torturingly clingy unitard. The imperial person can stand constraints no longer, his designer is fired and he is down to his Y-fronts. 

With the royal parade due, he is now in a sorry fix. He must have a new designer and one with special flair. His daughter Eva (Carrie Green) will help work things out. 

Enter the villains posing as tailors, and a well contrasted pair they are. Rufus (I was unable to see this written, but the name seems and sounded appropriate), is the brains and played by the versatile Emma Cusdin in Gallic disguise. His offsider, Goofy, (again I am reporting from audio) played by Carrie Green, belongs to that much loved genre of the slow, clumsy and well intentioned sidekick.

Together they carry the plot along, deceiving the Emperor and almost escaping with the reward which is to say of course, bags of gold. Eva does the detective work.

A new and inventive device sees a helpful mannequin figure (Chris McRae) involved in that denouement which brings a just reward to the earnest Goofy who has kept the gold safe and created a stunning, comfortable suit. He becomes the new Chief Designer. 

All roles are pleasing to the young audience and my seven year-old co-reviewer, who can be a picky individual, is firm in awarding between 8 and 9 out of ten (best ever). 

To my adult eye, the adapted set from Blood Brothers is a little flimsy, consisting chiefly of Mondrian panels partly covering the brickwork with a screen for royal robing and rostra for parading on. The costumes however, boldly establish an OTT atmosphere and succeed in sustaining clear, watchable characters. 

Somewhere along the way the message about the vulnerability of vanity percolates through, but in essence it’s about fun and good fun at that.

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