I'm not really a big fan of drag. An ugly man - or a beautiful one come to that - in a frock making jokes about periods is not my idea of a good night out. However you'd catagorise Miss Hope Springs, "drag" wouldn't be the first word that comes to mind. No miming to Britney for this classy dame as her act comprises cabaret and torch songs from the golden age stretching from the 40s to the 60s. Or so I thought until it suddenly dawned on me that these "lost" classics were in fact written by Miss Springs herself.

The songs go beyond mere pastiche, they genuinely sound like the real thing. For example the gorgeous Portrait of a Love Affair in Blue is a song which delivers everything the title promises - a bittersweet Burt Bacharach-sounding confection which will bring a lump to the most jaded throat and a tear to the most stoical eye. The lyrics perfectly capture the era's sense of wistful melodrama: "It's an old kaleidoscope/And all the words you say mean nothing/It's a broken candy-coloured glass..."

Miss Springs, the creation of classically trained musician Ty Jeffries, is an ex Las Vegas Showgirl who's trying to recapture her youth through telling the audience the highs and lows of her glamorous career. She's a surprisingly sweet creation - overlooking the occasional husband-murder - who's endearing rather than monstrous.

But of course it's the music which makes the show. If you want to hear the greatest collection of songs that Bacharach, Gershwin, Irving Berlin and early Scott Walker never wrote then Miss Hope Springs is the gal for you.

To hear some of Miss Springs' songs visit:
www.myspace.com/misshopesprings