In a week where one side of Edinburgh is feeling great pain, the other is coincidentally celebrating the unique character of Leith in, allegedly, the closest ever performance of Sunshine On Leith to its titular home.

The beautifully refurbished Portobello Town Hall, now with quite plush lavvies, but not the world’s greatest acoustics, is a mere 3.3 miles from Leith.  And the sense of place is palpable in this gloriously upbeat musical featuring the Great Scottish Songbook that is The Proclaimers‘ finest hours.

Sunshine on Leith is steadily becoming the new The Steamie in that it captures more recent Scottish culture in a way that is completely relatable; beguiling even.

Oh, and full of bangers.

The production centres on a bittersweet six-way romance (with an uncomfortable intrusion) that somehow manages to mesh a great script with a jukebox musical that gives the opportunity, done well, for magic.

Lisa Goldie’s production pulls it off in grand style. With a 36-strong cast, and a big bold band, Portobello Town Hall is filled with love and a number of strong performances. The sense of community in the venue is palpable and valuable because it puts wind under the wings of the entire production and that is evident in its glorious finale.

The stray Jambo, and the ‘I Want to Break Free’, moustache/hoover moments raised loud laughs.

As for the performances Lindsay McDougall, as the tortured wife Jean, has a slowish start, but stars in Act Two. Aaron Khachaturian, as Davy, and Ewan Robertson, as Ally, deliver powerfully in the vocal department, and Ellie McConnachie and Monique Crisell bounce off them well.  Crisell, as the English Nurse, particularly impresses with great acting chops.

The ensemble pieces particularly strike the emotional jugular. Lindsay McDougall’s beautiful  introduction to ‘Sunshine on Leith’ is spectacularly amplified by the Greek chorus that envelopes the stalls and elicited a number of sobbing responses.

Perhaps even more emotional was the female-chorus-led ‘Letter From America’ that pre-empted a glorious call and response from the smaller male chorus.  Just lovely.

It’s a big show. Three hours long. But it speeds by and certainly merits grabbing a ticket if you can get one.

Sunshine on Leith is at Portobello Town Hall until Sun 24 May