The Lightning Thief – The Percy Jackson Musical, opened last night at the Birmingham Hippodrome for a short run and was greeted with thunderous applause by its many young teenage fans in the audience. It seems the cult following Percy since Rick Riordan wrote the first book about him back in 2005, just keeps getting bigger. There have been seven books to date, a multi part series, two movies, a Disney+ edition and the inevitable video game.

The musical version (book by Joe Tracz and lyrics by Rob Rokicki) started life as an Off–Broadway 60-minute small scale workshop back in 2014. Over the years it has seen many changes on its international travels and grown into a full-blown two-hour show. Thankfully it has retained its simple but effective staging via a lot of clever FX, immersive projections and illusions, with the actors completing many of the big features using hand props and puppetry.

The story is a wonderful way to keep Greek mythology alive too as Percy is in fact Perseus. In the real world he is a troubled, angst-filled lad with a big dose of ADHD and a side problem of dyslexia who keeps getting expelled from schools. That is until his despair turns to wonder when his mother Sally Jackson (played with warmth and tenderness by Simone Robinson) tells him he is going to a special summer camp where he will find out who he really is.

Picture by Johan Perssson. s

The (very) camp leader is the outrageous orange haired Mr D – aka Dionysus the God of wine and drama (a perfect outing for drag supremo Danny Beard). Mr D. explains to Percy that all the other kids in the camp are half-bloods like him, that’s half – human and half -God – Percy is in fact the son of one of the big-wig Gods Poseidon, ruler of all the seas, surf and waves.

Percy is sent off on a quest of redemption and discovery to the underworld to find Zeus’s stolen lightning bolt – and hopefully to meet his Dad. Going with him is Annabeth, daughter of Athena (big, bold performance and fabulous singing from pocket-sized delight Kayna Montecillo) and comedian chum Grover (cheeky and lovable Cahir O’Neill).

Picture by Johan Perssson. s

Percy himself is a real tour-de-force from the hugely watchable Portuguese actor Vasco Emauz.

Directed and choreographed by Lizzi Gee this show does exactly what it says on the tin and at a pace and volume that demands attention from Percy’s faithful followers. The musical may not be as spectacular as the Harry Potter stage adaptations, but it retains the dignity and charm of the original.

Picture by Johan Perssson. s

The strong song book is welded beautifully into the story and performed by a young, high-energy company on a mission to deliver – and they certainly do. A feast fit for the Gods.