'Hamilton' at the Victoria Palace Theatre

The Victoria Palace hosted 'Billy Elliot' for years and then it closed for refurbishment. The re-opening show is Lin-Manuel Miranda's 'Hamilton', a hot ticket guaranteed to pull in the punters. There's been a lot of hype about this show over the last year or two and, I have to say, it deserves it. It also deserves all the awards it's been given. It's one of those rare beasts that really is all-round good.

It's almost entirely sung/rapped with no dialogue as such and that keeps the momentum going. Scene piling on scene as we travel through the escapades of Mr Hamilton from being a young firebrand through the revolutionary war to becoming an elder statesman who's eventually cast out when Washington decides not to run for President again. I didn't really notice anything that signalled the passing of time - other than him suddenly having an adult child in a duel.

The songs are really good - there's no denying it - and they're delivered really well. But I'd also highlight the choreography and the lighting as a major contributor to the effect of the songs. Barely a song goes by without some sort of choreography and that's what really brought the show alive for me. Constant movement, dancers rushing on to almost make many of the songs into mini-videos and then dashing off. They must be exhausted by the end of the show.

I was very impressed with Jason Pennycooke who played Thomas Jefferson for all the world like an early version of Prince, haircut, purple clothes and everything. And why not? It really worked well. The character blithely asks what he's missed while hiding out in France while the revolutionary war was taking place. There are some lovely throw away lines in this play.

One of the few downsides to the show is that I don't really care about Hamilton the person and this play doesn't make me care about him. I don't have any real interest in American history or of the revolution so him being a 'founding father' means little to me. All I know about him is what's in the play (which may or may not be accurate) and he doesn't come across as a very nice person. He seems to care mainly about himself and what he wants to the extent of publicising an affair he had that ruins his family but ensures he can't be blackmailed about it in the future. I'm not sure if that's brave or stupid.

Jamael Westman was fine as Alexander Hamilton but I thought Giles Terera as Aaron Burr and sometimes the narrator was a more commanding presence on the stage. My favourite was Jason Pennycooke as Lafayette in the first act and Prince, um, sorry, I mean Thomas Jefferson in the second. He was fabulous as a fast talking, self-absorbed dandy (I recall Jason in 'La Cage Aux Folles' a few years back). Despite presenting them as a version of Destiny's Child, the ladies were less impressive but I did like Rachel John who sounded like she had a proper singers' voice rather than a stage voice.

I've mentioned the dancers before - an excellent and energetic bunch - and they were all dressed the same, all in white and cream so it didn't really matter who was dancing, they had great ensemble effect. But I noticed early on that the women wore skin-tight jodhpurs and a bodice-type thing showing cleavage while the men wore looser trousers and were covered up to their heads, including wearing neckerchiefs. With all the gender politics and #MeToo movements it seemed very noticeable - to me at least - the way that the dancers were sexualised in this way. How odd.

If you get the chance, go and se this show, you won't regret it. Oh, and as you're constantly reminded, don't throw away your shot (I'm not quite sure what that means).