It seems a trifle old hat at this point to be vaunting the productions at Birmingham’s Old Joint Stock Theatre for their sense of aspiration and relentless energy. The intimate venue has been blowing the doors off of any small scale trappings or modesty and currently basks in a renaissance of impressive, original, in-house productions.

Alexander Dinelaris and Tim Acito’s Zanna, Don’t! is the first musical arrival (of two – Scrooge in Rouge follows later this month) for the theatre this festive season, and its a great standard bearer for the current OJS approach.

Shrewdly balancing both the immediacy and up-close-and-personal rawness of fringe theatre with a genuine sense of showmanship and ensemble wattage that feels big and punchy, director Scott Le Crass uses every inch of space and every ounce of a talented company to deliver a cracking, campy treat.

The high-concept framing of Zanna’s world doesn’t land quite as daringly as it perhaps did when it debuted back in 2003, but it remains a fun subversion. We’re in parallel universe/‘fairytale’ territory, with the big catch being that homosexuality is the norm. Acito’s book keeps things mostly light and chirpy, but the premise births a number of fun little quirks such as the chess prodigy and drama club team being the top dogs in school, and the burgeoning forbidden romance being between, le gasp, a boy and a girl.

And in the middle of it all, there’s wand-waving cupid Zanna (Jack Gittins), who talks to birds, looks out for his fellow students and generally flits about playing match-maker for everyone but themself.

“…director Scott Le Crass uses every inch of space and every ounce of a talented company to deliver a cracking, campy treat.”

Not all the disparate elements of Zanna, Don’t! entirely gel or convince. If that summation alone sounds a bit bonkers, just wait until you set it to music. It is zippy and a lot of fun but the book overall lacks focus. With so much heightened campiness and hijinks abounding, it feels a little muddled in what it’s trying to say and be. Minor supporting characters suddenly become key narrative anchors, despite the audience not really knowing them at all, even as the interval beckons. Zanna himself, whilst a likeable and fun original character, often seems artificially secondary to, or detached from, the key plot points developing. And some of the eventual plot resolutions bandy between being genuinely touching and neatly unexpected to others that feel a little unconvincing and completely out of left field.

But if it’s all a little bit muddied and erratic, Le Crass and the company do a great job of keeping things entertaining. From random hoedowns to a number featuring three characters we’ve only just met singing about… being quick… Zanna, Don’t! gleefully careens down mad, colourful cul-de-sacs of randomness that are rarely anything less than a hoot to watch. Again, all involved make optimum use of their confines, and David Winters’ intuitive, characterful choreography and blocking makes many of the more ambitious set pieces genuinely flow and feel far bigger and showier than they objectively are.

“…gleefully careens down mad, colourful cul-de-sacs of randomness that are rarely anything less than a hoot to watch.”

It certainly helps, too, that the show boasts some terrific musical theatre talent. With many on multi-role duty, this is a hardworking company that are clearly completely invested in the mantra of upping the ante. Sam Brasenell and Lou Destanque regularly raise the roof with knock-out, West End-worthy vocals, with Destanque also brilliantly brassy as the feisty Roberta. Marcus Collick, Josephina Ortez Lewis and Caprice Lane are great fun in a number of supporting roles, with Lane’s bratty mean girl persona in particular a giggle-worthy delight.

Adam Makepeace, meanwhile, really shines and proves himself a talent to watch as chess champ Mike, who goes on his own troubled romantic journey, whilst Oliver White conveys the conflicted Steve with nuance and poignancy.

Delivering arguably the most admirable turn, however, is Jack Gittins, who notably stepped in to the demanding lead role of Zanna with only 48 hours to learn the role and rehearse. The confidence and irrepressible sass they exude in the role completely belies the short turnaround time, and Gittins should be applauded for so capably stepping into Zanna’s stunning heels at such short notice.

Much like this summer’s First Date, Zanna, Don’t! isn’t a flawless masterpiece of musical theatre writing, nor does it break ground to the extent its subversive approach may first seem to suggest. But the team at the Old Joint Stock have once again taken a neat little show and turned it into a deceptively ambitious and vibrant explosion of colour and talent. Fun, catchy show tunes are impressively staged, and carried by an absolute joy of a cast who positively work their socks off to defy any limitations or preconceptions you may have of seeing a musical staged in a smaller venue.

So the verdict on whether or not to catch it this Christmas?

Zanna, do!