REVIEW: It's flares, hot pants, figure hugging shirts, and wall to wall Bee Gees hits.

And, above all, there is the dancing. It is high energy stuff that leaves the audience breathless, never mind the dancers. They remained cool, in control and to judge from the encores at the end, apparently indefatigable.

A full house was there to enjoy it from the first note and there was a great band under the direction of Chris Newton who managed to be full-blooded without being deafening. It gave the audience the advantage of hearing most of the words of the songs, which is surprisingly rare with this genre of musical.

Set in Brooklyn in the 1970s this was, of course, a star-making film vehicle for John Travolta. Stephane Anelli has the tough job of following in those famous footsteps, as Tony Manero, and how well he does it.

As well as his amazing hip-swivelling, shoulder-dislocating, trouser-challenging, totally committed dancing, he sings and acts with conviction too.

Tony's chosen partner for the all-important disco dance contest at the centre of the story, Stephanie, is Zoe Smith, another superb dancer who spins out of an energetic sequence with enough breath to sing.

But the whole cast is superbly co-ordinated. There is not a weak link, no-one out of step in the dazzling displays of choreography, directed by Arlene Phillips.

One character who stands out is Monty, the licentious DJ and aerobics teacher, played by George Clayton. He's comically coarse, and an unabashed show off.

There are shades of West Side Story in this tale of Brooklyn teenagers with little prospect of escape from their impoverished lives, except in their fantasies on the dance floor, where Tony especially excels.

There are hints of street gangs, racist divisions and tragic romance.

And although this story hasn't anything like the depth of West Side Story, it has its darker side to add a little grit to the glitz.

The dancing is unashamedly sexy and the teenage conversation is obsessed with erotic ambition, and sardonic humour. It's colourful, noisy and exhilarating.

The set is a basic steel scaffold frame with varying backdrops for the dance hall, street scenes and the Brooklyn Bridge, symbolic of the big divide between rich Manhattan and downmarket Brooklyn. There's a particularly evocative lighting sequence for a poignant dawn scene between Tony and Stephanie by the bridge.

For the record, some of the hits are Stayin' Alive, Boogie Shoes, More Than A Woman, Jive Talking, Tragedy, Night Fever, and How Deep is Your Love.

The show boogies on at Bath until Saturday.

Saturday Night Fever

Theatre Royal, Bath