Long before the end, it was obvious why the opening night on Tuesday had, for reasons of health and safety.

Musical Zorro,
King's Theatre,
Glasgow
***


Long before the end, it was obvious why the opening night on Tuesday had, for reasons of health and safety, ended abruptly after 20 minutes. For, as gipsy encampment morphed into elaborately-rigged ship, then into a whitewashed pueblo on several levels, and as the action swung from swishy fencing match to high-flying aerial leaps across the space, Zorro: the Musical came to resemble a reality show in which technical crew and cast faced relentlessly testing skills challenges.

This really is a massively ambitious, determinedly spectacular production which is so over-egged with scene changes and cunning stunts it beggars belief that it is touring at all, frankly. But, then, the hopes are that it will find a home in London's West End.

It could, perhaps but more on the strength of the sizzlingly powerful ensemble singing and dancing than on the central storyline, the clunky dialogue or the two-dimensional characters that the principal players have to contend with - Matt Rawle's Diego/Zorro remains flatly enigmatic, masked or no, while Adam Cooper's villainous Ramon, pictured, does his best to seethe in different shades of jealous pique but, like Aimie Atkinson's girlishly defiant Luisa, he is left dealing in surface cliches rather than inner depths.

Lesli Margherita (the feisty Inez) and Nick Cavaliere (the bumbling Garcia) fare better as the comic relief "odd couple", but they earn their stripes despite the script's dubious entendres.

What hits the spot and wins rapturous applause, however, is the flamenco-influenced score that sees the ensemble make our pulses race with flouncing, foot-stamping versions of such Gipsy Kings hits as Bamboleo, while the superb solo guitar-playing of Ramon Ruiz creates a true sense of the Spanish California that Zorro is fighting to protect.