Unbelievably, it’s half a century since Abba’s Mamma Mia topped the UK charts...

Just short of 25 years afterwards, the song provided the title for a new stage musical based around the Swedish supertroupers’ catalogue of classics. Now, another quarter of a century later, the show is not only still going strong - having also spawned two star-studded movies - it’s visiting Birmingham this very week.

A colourful, high-energy, lighthearted and brilliantly choreographed smash-hit jukebox musical, Mamma Mia! contains no fewer than 24 much-loved Abba tracks, all of which slot beautifully into the Greek-island-set story, which finds bride-to-be Sophie (Lydia Hunt) attempting to uncover the identity of her father.

Unbeknown to her mother, Donna (Jenn Griffin), Sophie secretly sends wedding invitations to three men whose names she finds in a diary written by her mum 21 years earlier. Three men, all of whom could potentially be her dad. As the story unfolds, and as a result of Sophie’s investigation, Donna is horrified to find herself coming face-to-face with her trio of former romantic partners: Bill (Mark Goldthorp), Harry (Richard Meek) and Sam (Luke Jasztal).

It’s a tricky situation for the middle-aged single mum to deal with, but thankfully she has the support of best friends Tanya (Sarah Earnshaw) and Rosie (Rosie Glossop), with whom, back in the day, she had performed as female band Donna And The Dynamos. The trio re-form for one night only at Sophie’s hen-do and perform Super Trouper...

There are many memorable and outstanding moments throughout Mamma Mia!. Some of my favourites last night included Sophie singing Lay All Your Love On Me with her fiance, Sky (Joe Grundy) - a duet that led to a scene in which the stags performed the iconic and laugh-out-loud flipper-wearing dance.

Then there was Tanya and the irrepressible Pepper’s (Joseph Vella) hilarious rendition of Does Your Mother Know, where the sultry older divorcee tried to quell the attentions of the much younger man. And Donna could have raised the roof of any Greek taverna with her powerful solo version of The Winner Takes It All. Finally, there was Rosie and Bill’s risqué performance of Take A Chance On Me, executed with great vocals and perfect comic timing.

The encore provided a truly exhilarating climax to this upbeat and fabulously feelgood show. Donna and her Dynamos, along with Sophie’s three dads, wore full Abba-inspired 1970s costumes for the occasion - that’s jumpsuits and platform boots, for those not in the know - while the audience took to their feet and enthusiastically clapped, sang and danced along to a medley of the group’s hits.

We left the theatre feeling thoroughly cheered and drove home singing our favourite Abba songs. Mamma Mia! is one of the longest-running shows in West End history. And if this current UK touring version is anything to go by, it will be some considerable time yet before it faces its final curtain.

Five stars

Mamma Mia! was reviewed by Sue Hull on Wednesday 13 May at Birmingham Hippodrome, where it shows until Saturday 30 May.