It has become a musical phenomenon, but is the tour of Hamilton worth it? 

For the first time ever, the story of one of the United State's founding fathers, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda, is available to watch in theatres outside of London as it embarks on a UK and Ireland tour, and it is currently at the Bristol Hippodrome. 

But is it worth a short trip down the M4 from Swindon to see? Or are people better off waiting until they can visit the capital to see it on the West End? 

Well, as someone who has already seen Hamilton on the West End, and who recently made that trip down the M4 to see it in Bristol, I can categorically and emphatically say that it doesn't matter where you see it - just go and see it. 

Now, I'll readily admit that Hamilton isn't going to be for everyone, its pace is relentless and it wastes no time despite having an almost three-hour length. And its incredibly wordy songs delivered mainly through rap can be hard to follow and off-putting to some, particularly those hard of hearing. 

But for everyone else, Hamilton is a revolutionary musical that has used modern-day music stylings and a simple but effective set that comes alive through lighting and impressive choreography, to tell a story that would normally be inaccessibly confined to boring history lessons, in a rousing, emotional and frankly brilliant way. 

And in many ways, I preferred the touring cast to the West End show, or even the Disney production packed full of powerhouses like Leslie Odom Lr, Anthony Ramos, Daveed Diggs, Phillipa Soo and Miranda himself. 

Mostly the first-half quartet of Shaq Taylor's Hamilton, Billy Nevers' Marquis de Lafayette, DeAngelo Jones' John Laurens and KM Drew Boateng's Hercules Mulligan, who enthused their storyline friendship with camaraderie, swagger and humour in a way I hadn't seen done previously. 

Taylor as Hamilton, Sam Oladiende's Aaron Burr and Maya Britto's Eliza Hamilton have to carry a lot of the emotional weight of the show and all three excel, not only together, but in filling the big shoes left behind by their predecessors. 

I came away from the West End version thinking it was one of the best things I'd seen on stage, and I came away from this version thinking the exact same thing. So it would be a crying shame for people to throw away their shot at seeing it while it's nearby.

Hamilton is at the Bristol Hippodrome until June 22.