Mikey the Pikey was born to his teenage mother in a skip on the Sinkwell estate. His future looks grim: a lifetime of Burberry, glue-sniffing and yearning for posh girl Angela Jessops. But in this lively musical that comes to Edinburgh after picking up an award at the National Student Drama festival, things don't turn out as you might expect.
Let's be quite clear: this is a romp, not great art. The book doesn't even hold together very well and some of the singing is weak. But the show has real verve and, contrary to some reports, it is no more offensive or patronising about chav culture than West Side Story is about the Puerto Rican way of life.
Its heart is always in the right place, putting the blame for low aspirations and low achievements right at the door of the politicians and treating its protagonists with wit and tenderness, suggesting that they can - and do - make something of their lives. It is a young show, from young and unformed talents, but I reckon they are more than one-hit Edinburgh wonders.
· Until Monday. Box office: 0131-556 6550.
