Sandy Wilson's The Boy Friend is not a feminist play.

It tells the tale of a gaggle of 17 year old girls at Finishing School in the South of France in the picture perfect 1920s. Their collective dearest dream is finding a boyfriend whom they might wed as this obviously equals lifelong joy, stability, security and success.

In a Shakespeare-worthy comedy of errors, sweet Polly Brown, daughter to a trillionaire, bumps into the son of a millionaire. But both have long since sickened of being courted for their money so she passes herself off as a secretary and he, as a messenger boy. And so their courtship unfurls, aspiring only to a meagre little room in Bloomsbury (possibly rent was lower in 1953), two cosy armchairs and a plump plum duff, providing only enough for two.

Swirling around the edges of their burgeoning love affair are other girls, other dalliances, a long lost father that turns into a long lost love affair and re-kindled romance and a predatory old perv (the brilliant Adrian Edmondson) who stalks the edges of this field of fertile fillies. Alongside a delicious soundtrack, a delicately hard-working set and in the Menier Chocolate Factory's new production, exquisitely choreographed Charlestons from Bill Deamer that Chris Stuart-Wilson would be proud of. 

It's a really silly story that requires utmost sincerity from its leads to work. If you don't fall in love with Polly from the get go, it's hard to feel much sympathy with the poor plight she creates when she invents an imaginary escort for the forthcoming summer ball. But because Amara Okereke is so endearingly sweet, we yearn for someone to wander across her path who perfectly fits the bill. Dylan Mason as her beau, Tony, is debonair, devilishly handsome and dances like a dream.

The frothy frivolities are given a twenty-first century jolt of energy, thanks to David Cullen's  brand new orchestrations and Simon Beck's new vocal arrangements. The soundtrack is infectiously, foot-tappingly catchy and the band sound like they're having a ball. 

For all its silliness, this is one of those shows that makes you fall in love with life. And in the aftermath of this most recent gloomy Thursday, The Boy Friend couldn't be a better antidote. 

On at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London until 7 March 2020.