Showing @ Festival Theatre, Edinburgh until Sat 15 Mar

Released in 1927, The Jazz Singer was the first feature film distributed as a “talkie” and paved the way for a new era of cinema. The iconic Singin’ in the Rain both satirises and celebrates this revolution, from Kathy Selden’s claims that film ain’t for real actors, to Lina Lamont’s stupendous grapple with the microphone. It’s a dazzling, toe-tapping 12000-litres-of-water-drenched spectacle that has continued to delight fans for 52 years.

The plot is driven from the success of The Jazz Singer, with Monumental Pictures desperate for their own talkie success. Gene Kelly’s seminal character, Don Lockwood, now played by James Leece – meets Kathy Selden (Amy Ellen Richardson) by chance, in the park on the way to a party. They fall in love and set out, with trusty Cosmo (Stephane Anelli) to save Monumental and their movie, The Dancing Cavalier from squeaky Lina Lamont (Faye Tozer) and inevitable ruin.

Anelli’s Cosmo is a tour de force of energy in this flash new production. It’s a love story, homage to film and most prominently a comedy – they do make ‘em laugh. The anticipation for the title track is almost tangible and it doesn’t disappoint, but it’s the Broadway Ballet that’s the real showstopper. Musicals can be seen as subordinate to classical or avant-garde work, and this particular production is by no means intellectually challenging or groundbreaking. However, it sets out to instil in its audience the same joy and invincibility that Lockwood feels when he performs the eponymous track. And it succeeds.

On the whole, the show is about self-expression: how do we tell stories? How do our bodies and voices reflect our thoughts and feelings? The talkies gave cinema subtext and depth that silent movies couldn’t. The recent Oscar-winning movie The Artist reflects on that, and what that change meant to stars of the era – like Lina Lamont – who feared (and were incapable of) change. Lockwood suggests we should embrace being on the brink of the new and exciting, because it might just feel good. We should let it.