A member of the company’s management sourly refused me a complimentary reviewer’s programme. I firmly refused (on behalf of The Oxford Times) to fork out an outrageous eight quid. So, rightly, did almost all of the New Theatre audience — I only saw perhaps half a dozen of these glossy productions in the whole of the stalls. So, as it turned out, I saw the show under the same conditions as the audience, without the benefit of a programme note. Would I be able to follow the plot? There isn’t much of it!

The Lord of the Dance and his tribe live a peaceful, happy life. He has a nice girlfriend and a side-kick who is a kind of flute-playing jester with magic powers — a Tinkerbell of tap. She wakes the girls of the tribe, who for some reason are sleeping on the stage, and the dancing begins. Then, to a booming soundtrack and flashing backdrop, we meet the bad guys. Their leader is half biker, half Darth Vader. He has a slinky, sexy girlfriend (a real star here) and a horde of goggle-eyed Robocop supporters. Clearly there’s a shortage of women in his camp! What he wants is the Lord’s glittering cummerbund with “Lord of the Dance” written on it in diamonds.

Our hero is beaten up, loses his precious centre-piece, and gets it back again in a well- staged dance-fight, helped by his sparkling side-kick. What makes all this nonsense enjoyable is the quality of the dancing. All the main characters are terrific at Irish tap-dancing, particularly the Lord.

Some of the set pieces are imaginatively done, especially the dances for the girls. But, restrained by a style that keeps dancers’ arms at their sides, the battle between the opposing forces isn’t convincing.

However, if you like Irish dancing, this is an evening that showcases some of the best you can see.

There are also two smiling lady violinists who walk around playing Irish tunes, and a very good singer.