The Book Of Mormon tells the tale of two new, enthusiastic, Salt Lake City evangelists, sent to preach the Mormon faith to a small Ugandan village in the hope of winning converts to their religion. Upon arrival, they are met with some very harsh realities including a less than receptive local population and an especially unpleasant warlord. Written by Trey Parker and Matt Stone (the creators of South Park) with songs by renowned lyricist Robert Lopez, the show took Broadway by storm when it emerged in 2011, winning nine Tony Awards. It arrived in the West End two years later and set the record for the highest single day of sales in the history of London theatre. It is perhaps best described as a ‘phenomenon’, and I have to say comes with plenty of health warnings – promising swearing, outrageous views and a particularly singular attitude toward the work of the Church of Latter Day Saints! The show is currently enjoying a long stay in Nottingham – here until 28th June.

Adam Bailey stars as shiny and enthusiastic Elder Price, the Mormon hoping for a first assignment to Orlando who is somewhat befuddled by an unexpected posting to…Uganda. Price finds himself paired up with Elder Cunningham (Sam Glen) who has a penchant for exaggerating the truth and is a less than desirable travel companion. These two performers make for an absolutely dynamic duo. Their chemistry is wonderful and much of the comedy is driven by their barely stifled love-hate relationship. They have magnificent voices – Bailey’s ‘I believe’ is absolutely breathtaking, perfectly capturing this young dreamer’s fatal combination of arrogant ambitiousness and naivety. Glen’s rendition of ‘Man Up’ is hilarious and his comedy timing is exquisite. Every look and every movement perfectly communicates his nerdy, needy, goofy demeanor. It’s impossible not to love them both.

Along the way we encounter other messengers of the faith, all of whom create for us a world of delusional positivity and boyish bravado. This is a magnificent ensemble production with every performer playing their role to perfection. Tom Bales lights up the stage with every entrance as the camp Elder McKinley, cheerful and paranoid in equal measure. Daniel David Griffith has us snorting with laughter as the local Doctor who has a peculiarly grim medical dilemma all of his own, and Nyah Nish is spectacular as the local girl Nabulungi who is seriously considering the Mormon lifestyle . What a voice!

The choreography and direction by Casey Nicholaw is exquisitely camp and stagey – it really is no surprise that this show wins awards. The pace of the production is astonishingly fast too – we are never left to linger in any given scene. Music, under the direction of Danny Belton is toe-tappingly good, every song a total winner. ‘Hello’ and ‘Turn It Off’ have members of this opening night audience shrieking with delight! ‘Hasa Diga Eebowai’ is so catchy I’ll be whistling it for days.

Scott Pask’s magnificent set design and Ann Roth’s costumes really add to the sense of comedy too – you have to see it to believe it!

All told, this show is not for the feint-hearted. If you’re easily offended it’s probably best to stay away. Which would be a shame. Sure, it’s rude, offensive on lots of levels and extremely un-PC (as you might expect from the writers of South Park!). However, it’s also extremely sweet and oddly uplifting. It is satire, but it is affectionately done. Parker and Stone have described the show as ‘an atheists love letter to religion.’ Underneath all of the micky-taking and shock tactics, it’s a story about some very sympathetic and likeable people trying to make sense of their lives when everything they hold dear is challenged (even ridiculed) by those around them. That’s probably why it has such wide appeal. That, and the catchy songs, hilarious choreography and outrageously risqué dialogue. It really is musical theatre heaven.

Parental Advisory: Explicit language. Ages 16+. Contains adult themes. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.