If you wanted to be famous in Prohibition-era Chicago, killing someone was the only way to do it.

True, shooting your cheating husband may not have made you a prime candidate for canonisation, but as a means of boosting your showbiz career, it was unbeatable.

In 1924, cabaret singer Belva Gaertner was propelled to fame after being accused of shooting her lover, under the influence of 'drink and jazz'. And you thought Jade Goody achieved her fame on dubious grounds.

In this, the musical's third UK tour, Dawn Spence and Charleen Qwaye play the show's gun-toting 'heroines' Velma Kelly (whose character is based on Gaertner) and Roxie Hart, a Vaudeville singer and a chorus girl whose paths cross when they are both incarcerated at Cook County Jail for murder.

Velma, enjoying press supremacy for killing her husband and sister, does not welcome the arrival of Roxie, who threatens to steal her thunder after shooting her lover.

When Velma's lawyer Billy Flynn - the Max Clifford of his time - takes on Roxie's case, the rivalry turns nasty.

A press conference on Roxie's forthcoming trial is presented with Flynn as a ventriloquist controlling a puppet Roxie, while his submission to the jury in her trial is presented as a tap dance.

It's a clever idea and effective in being so seamlessly executed.

But it is the cast that can take credit for making the show so enjoyable.

The dancing is stunning - even to those of us who generally have no interest in it - and undeniably sexy. Lithe male dancers strike a pose with bowler hats and cigarettes, while women slide across the stage in little more than their underwear.

Qwaye usually understudies the part of Roxie, but after seeing her in the role, it was hard to imagine anyone doing it better.

She perfectly conveyed the character's giddy lust for fame, in turns likeable and despicable, and turned in sterling vocal performances.

As Velma, Spence was suitably diva-ish and showed genuine relish for the witty, acerbic, script, as well as a perfect handle on the demanding dance routines.

The show may be intended to highlight the gaudy, immoral, sleazy values of society, but - and this is surely telling - it's impossible not to enjoy it.