SOMETIMES life is stranger than fiction.

Laura Henderson and her Windmill manager Vivian Van Damm’s risqué move to boost the failing theatre’s box office by introducing nude girls posing as statues in tableaux vivants seems entirely made-up.

How could the Lord Chamberlain be persuaded to allow such effrontery and complete disregard for decency and propriety?

And yet if anyone could convince a bigoted censor to change his ways it was the eccentric widow, Mrs Henderson. This new musical adaptation of Mrs Henderson Presents, the acclaimed movie based on true events which revolutionised revues in the capital on the eve of World War II purports it was achieved with heaps of charm, a soupcon of manipulation, wine and ‘camembert’. Poetic licence aside, the fact remains, he was swayed.

The production certainly had a lot to prove. Trading the fine line between historical veracity and re-imagining the plucky company’s efforts to keep theatregoers’ spirits up during the Blitz, was never going to be straightforward.

Following in the footsteps of acting royalty Judi Dench and Bob Hoskins, who starred in the original film is another difficulty producers and cast alike had to contend with.

And yet, trepidation should not have furrowed their brow – the new musical is miles ahead of the movie.

Hysterical, bold, sassy, all at once it is a tremendous feat and every bit as artfully lit, tongue-in-cheek and I suspect for many titillating as the Windmill Girls’ tableaux ever were. We certainly get the promised eyeful and true to life, completely motionless nudes as per the Windmill’s golden rule: ‘If it moves, it’s rude!’ But this is not to say everything is passed off as a pleasant joke. As the story unfolds, London comes under siege. In the throes of German bombs, the troupe’s resolve that the show must go on is thoroughly tested.

The cast hit a flawless stride from the moment the curtain rose, each utterly believable as working class boys and girls trying to make their way in life. Tracie Bennett is faultless as the indomitable and often mouthy mother hen Laura Henderson, whose resourcefulness and talent know no bounds. The musical number in which she sets out to ply the Lord Chamberlain with drink and cheese was the shining beacon of the production. Ian Bartholomew’s complex portrayal of Van Damm, at times distant and cool, at others a kind, avuncular figure to his girls was truly touching.

As for Emma Williams , her singular voice and subtle performance simple carried the production.

Head-boppingly fun, cleverly staged, poignant and delightfully cheeky, Mrs Henderson Presents is superb. It has the makings of a sell-out West End show.

Mrs Henderson presents runs at the Theatre Royal Bath until September 5.