You can't help loving the Arcola because it is so full of surprises, because it mixes the local, the national and the international in one heady brew and because it never lets a little thing like lack of money get in the way of vaulting ambition. The words "not possible" simply don't figure in the director Mehmet Ergen's vocabulary.
Release the Beat is a full-scale musical with a real edge and huge appeal to both a local crowd and a wider audience. It tells the story of Simone, daughter of club entrepreneur Jay Vinyl, and her friend Dionne as they embark on a coming-of-age odyssey in Ibiza's club culture, as their would-be lovers Winston and Tom go head-to-head in a mighty clash of the DJs.
There are shades of A Midsummer Night's Dream in Karl Lewkowicz's musical that cleverly place house and hip-hop rhythms within the context of the traditional musical. The result is ragged, rough and ready, very fresh and completely invigorating.
Judith Johnson's book and Lewkowicz's music and lyrics are a mixture of the tough and tender, and the performances have an engaging and unaffected openness. It is a very long way from perfect or even finished and there are times when you feel Lewkowicz has been too influenced by almost every musical writer who has gone before him - from Lionel Bart to Stephen Sondheim.
But it is real summer fun and a more mature attempt to wed Shakespeare, hip-hop and the musical form than previous efforts such as The Donkey Show and Da Boyz, and one that has real potential for development. Let's hope somebody with some money and an interest in new musicals will check it out.
· Until August 21. Box office: 020-7503 1646.
