Based on the book by Catherine Johnson, the stage play features dozens of songs by BENNY ANDERSSON & BJÖRN ULVAEUS of the famous Swedish group ABBA which won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 and topping music charts worldwide until 1982.

With a 22-performance run at the Grand Theatre in Luxembourg city centre, The Luxembourg Chronicle dropped by on Friday evening to view the spectacle first-hand - and in the same week as we reviewed the muscial theatre Call Me Madam in Mersch.

And a wonderful spectacle it certainly was! Going the same way as Queen with their stage musical We Will Rock You, Mamma Mia! has even gone one step further and has made it to the silver screen.

Over twenty of the group's top songs have been seamlessly integrated into the stage musical which has now reached Luxembourg's stage. The storyline features 20 year-old Sophie Sheridan (Niamh Perry - whom some will remember in the BBC's I'd Do Anything in 2008 auditioning with Andrew Lloyd Webber for the role of Nancy in a Christmas Carol) who lives on a Greek island with her mother Donna (Sara Poyzer) who runs a taverna. They are content but not rich. 21 years ago Donna had a short relationship with a man (Sam) who broke it off to return to Britain to marry his fiancé; on the rebound Donna then had short flings with two other men, Bill and Harry, all three different in their own right.

Sophie is getting married to local boy Sky and would like her father to walk her down the aisle; hiowever, her mother has never revealed who her father is. She reads the details of the three men in her mother's diary so invites all three to the wedding. Donna's friends Rosie and Tanya also arrive - the three of them used to perform together as Donna and the Dynamos. Their arrival sets off a chain of events that ensure a roller-coaster ride up to the wedding ceremony.

From the first bar of the very first song, I Had A Dream, the cast had the audience eating out of their hands with consummate ease. The songs were delivered with energy and passion, ensuring the storyline was delivered with great continuity. The set was simple, with two whitewashed walls and blue doors alternating for interiors and exteriors on the Greek island, with their construction enabling quick and seamless scene changes.

But is was the lighting, and especially the choreography, that set this show apart, arguably the best West End production to reach the Grand Duchy. Niamh Perry was simply superb as besotted and curious Sophie, with the outfits alternating between swimsuits and wetsuits used for swimming, snorkelling and diving in the blue sea, and 70s & early 80s flares and platform shoes as Donna and the Dynamos recreate songs from their stage show.

With plenty more performances still to come, tickets cost €65, €40, €25 (children €8) an are available from www.luxembourg-ticket.lu.