'The King and I' at the London Palladium

We all know 'The King and I' by Rodgers and Hammerstein and we've all seen the film with Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner and enjoyed them bouncing around the palace to 'Shall We Dance?'. But have you seen it performed live in front of you? It's just as magical and includes all those sequences we remember from the film. And why shouldn't it since it was a stage musical years before it was filmed.

It's the tale of Mrs Anna Leonowens who takes her son with her to old Siam to be governess to the king's many children and her sparring with the king over many things as he tries to modernise his country. And, of course, they fall in love and argue and nothing can happen of course because she is an English gentlewoman and he is the king. Because we need some passion we also have the young lovers from Burma to provide a second, supporting storyline. The play ends with Prince Chulalongkorn telling his father about all the reforms he will make as Anna sits by the king's bed and he dies. It was all very tender and gentle and I liked that the spotlight stayed on the new young king as the curtain came down.

It's a really good production imported from Lincoln Centre in New York and by the same team that put on 'South Pacific' in 2009. Coincidentally, the role of Ensign Nellie Forbush was originally played by Kelli O'Hara but she'd left before I got to see it in 2010. Kelli played Anna in the revival of 'The King and I' and we were lucky enough to have her transfer with the production to London, along with Ken Watanabe as the King. I'm very familiar with Kelli's voice from the 'South Pacific' cast recording and it was marvellous to see and hear her sing these iconic songs on stage in front of me.

Of course, being familiar with the film and the songs doesn't mean there were no surprises on the night. I wasn't expecting to hear 'Hello Young Lovers' at all, let alone so early in the play, with Kelli's voice soaring away as she tells us all about love. Such a pure and powerful voice and great delivery.

It was also good to see Ken Watanabe as the King and he and Kelli seem to gel nicely on stage, still fresh and energetic. I also liked Naoko Mori as Lady Thiang, head wife and mother to Chulalongkorn, who gave a very touching performance as someone who clearly loved her King and wanted the best for him.

It's an excellent production, great sets and sumptuous costumes, great lighting and choreography, an all-round success. It was also great to finally see and hear Kelli O'Hara. I'm so pleased I went to see it.