If you’re down and troubled after the Bank Holiday Weekend, a kaleidoscopic musical about one woman’s extraordinary talent will have you feeling the earth move again.

Beautiful, which tells the incredible story of songwriter Carole King, is fresh from huge acclaim on the West End and has already had audiences at the New Theatre dancing in the aisles.

The jukebox musical tracks the star’s career from the tender age of 16, where a young and impressionable Carole was already taking New York by storm as a prolific song-writer. From the very first scene, Bronté Barbé beautifully depicts a bookish and naïve Carole falling in love for the first time with swaggering wannabe playwright Gerry Goffin – a man who later became her song-writing partner and husband.

The gifted couple went on to create some of the most memorable tunes of the 1960s, from Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow performed by the Shirelles, The Locomotion by Little Eva and Up On the Roof by The Drifters. All of the catchy numbers were performed by the sterling ensemble cast during upbeat moments of the performance amid an array of vibrant costumes – much to the delight of the audience, all of whom seemed to be suppressing the need to actually ‘do The Locomotion’ themselves.

However, the real success of the production lies in Barbé’s portrayal of Carole, which was both emotionally raw and professionally polished, with her soulful voice able to generate tears in even the most undemonstrative of audience members. To witness Barbé imperceptibly shift between geeky student, teen mum and the empowered Natural Woman we all know and love was a genuine pleasure. This was highlighted by the audience’s involuntary cheer as single mother Carole finally cast aside her lothario of a husband after discovering him with another woman.

The chemistry between Barbé and Kane Oliver Parry, who plays Gerry Goffin, was electric, with the dapper writer continuously serenading his wife with starry-eyed songs such as Some Kind of Wonderful, which was soon to be made famous by The Drifters.

The rollercoaster of a production was not without comedic value, however, with song-writing rivals and fellow couple Cynthia Well (played by Amy Ellen Richardson) and Barry Mann (played by Matthew Gonsalves) bringing a string of witty, intelligent one-liners and well-crafted dialogue to the stage. The pair also allowed the audience to enjoy yet more iconic 60s hits, including a sensational moment with The Righteous Brothers’ You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling.

If you’re looking for an evening of dancing, singing and jumping back into the swinging 60s, You’ve Got a Friend in Beautiful.

* Beautiful is showing at the New Theatre until Saturday. Book at atgtickets.com