After selling out on its maiden voyage at Birmingham Rep last year, Rush - a Joyous Jamaican Journey returns for four dates this spring.

And the cast are clearly delighted to be back on home turf entertaining Brummie audiences – so much so that the scheduled two-and-a-half hours ran to three hours on press night. And I’m convinced the team would have carried on into the night if they’d been able to.

Rush is indeed a joyous celebration through the history of Jamaica - its people, its culture, its music and its influences on life in the UK. Although it begins in the 15th century with the ‘discovery’ of Jamaica by Christopher Columbus and covers the next five hundred years the show largely focuses on the Windrush generation, covering their contribution over the last 75 years.

The tale is narrated by comedian John Simmitt and his message is an all-inclusive one. He constantly tells the audience that although we’re discussing Jamaica, this is a ‘shared history’ and a ‘shared experience’. And he underlines this by stressing the shared memories, the shared stories and the shared music.

Particularly strong on the seventies he reminds us of favourite chocolate bars ‘remember everyone it’s a Marathon, not a Snickers’ he tells us while also showing a photo of that rum-flavoured Cadbury favourite Old Jamaica. And then he shares a photo of a family’s pristine front room before holding out a number of knick-knacks every self-respecting Jamaican family had in that room.

Simmitt is also keen to build the links with Birmingham, with local geographical references to places around the city including Lozells, Kings Norton and Northfield.

Created by Rush Theatre Company and directed by Owen L Miller, Rush is heavily music led with a soundtrack featuring jazz, ska, reggae and even a trip into church for a bit of Gospel. Hits from across the decades just keep coming including Young Gifted and Black, The Israelites, Brown Girl in the Ring, Feeling Hot Hot Hot, Let’s Get It On, Help Me Make It Through the Night, Oh Happy Day and the hymn How Great Thou Art.

Singers Janice Williamson and IKA belt out the tunes with talent and enthusiasm, encouraging the audience to sing along, clap and get up on their feet. Providing backing vocals and DJing the recorded music is Ken Dread who dances around the stage, eggs on the audience and has the coolest trainers in town - flashing multicolours when he dances.

All the musicians in the JA Reggae Band give it their all seeming perfectly at home with the different forms and traditions of music.

Rush lives up to its name as a Joyous Jamaican Journey but it’s also a shared journey, by being encouraged to share the stories, the memories, the songs and the journey, we are reminded that our similarities will always outweigh our differences.

Four stars

Reviewed by Diane Parkes at The Rep Birmingam on Wednesday 26 April. Rush continues to show at the venue until Saturday 29 April. It then returns to the Midlands to play Wolverhampton Grand Theatre on 22 June.