I must confess to never having watched an entire episode of Acorn Antiques on television - I have only seen the many clips shown over the years. Therefore, I entered the Grand Theatre in Leeds wondering if I would really enjoy Acorn Antiques - The Musical.

I can honestly say it was a wonderful evening. The audience were laughing at the pre-curtain rise announcements and continued to laugh until the curtain came down.

It had everything one wants from a musical comedy - as well as the constant one-liners, the singing, dancing and acting were excellent.

The musical follows Miss Babs' struggle to keep her antiques business open, as shop after shop in the High Street is forced out by faceless chains. Can she afford to turn down the offer from The Guilty Bean (the world's second biggest chain of coffee shops - "We're second so we grind harder"), and if they do update the shop, can they still afford to employ Mrs Overall? And, most worryingly, will Mrs Overall be able to tapdance while holding the tray?

Acorn Antiques - The Musical came as something of a surprise. Not so much that it was funny - Victoria Wood wrote it, after all. No, it was the fact that it was also extremely clever and brilliantly performed. Relying heavily on things appearing to go wrong, like bits of set collapsing, equipment going wrong and actors forgetting lines, one was reminded of Les Dawson at the piano.

The fact that Dawson was an accomplished pianist didn't matter. You have to be good to play so badly and the cast of this show are good. Very good.

Stealing the show is Ria Jones playing Mrs Overall, the macaroon and parkin-obsessed daily help of Babs and Berta. Ria Jones played the part, made famous by Julie Walters on TV, with accomplished and stylish aplomb and demonstrated a versatility that, at times, was astonishing. Sara Crowe, as Miss Babs, is delightfully wacky. I remember her with affection from her days as the dumb blonde in the Philadelphia adverts. The sex-obsessed-yet-demure owner of Acorn Antiques is a delight to watch, as she propels the story along with some fantastic one-liners and a sense of comic timing that is impeccable.

Lisa Peace, Babs's marriage-obsessed sister, Berta, is also superb, with a singing voice to match. Her rendition of That Which Could Remind Him' is both funny and sad. What else would you expect from the pen of Ms Wood?

The part of Miss Bonnie, the third of the sisters (included in the musical, but not originally in the TV series), was played by Laura Medford, understudy to Lisa Peace, the normal actress playing this part. Laura was so good in the role that I for one was unaware that she was, in fact, the understudy. Well done, Laura.

Other fine performances came from Teddy Kempner as Mr Clifford, Berta's amnesia-riddled fiancé, Michael Melmoe as Hugh, the work experience boy and game show guru and, above all, Beverly Rudd playing the role of Mimi, Hugh's girlfriend and co-worker. The way in which Rudd manages to stay in "thicko" mode, with all the faces to match, is a joy to see and difficult to achieve for so long.

Overall - no pun intended - this is an evening of superb entertainment.