There's a bit of trouble with immigration control at the Pearly Gates. Cheerful and friendly the tribal Chief may be, but his record down on Earth wasn't entirely satisfactory. He may have been much loved by his people, but he shot an elephant, a sacred animal. And jealousy of his younger brother led to a vicious and unseemly fight at his wedding. "Never mind," says the Devil, who is also dancing around outside the Gates, "Heaven isn't all that it's cracked up to be."

A co-production between the Newcastle-based Dodgy Clutch theatre company, and the famed Market Theatre, Johannesburg, Elephant can be taken on two different levels. It can be enjoyed simply as an infectiously colourful song and dance spectacle, set to an atmospheric score by Simon Tarrant. Or you can explore the much darker second half, with its themes of good and evil, freedom of choice, and redemption.

These underlying themes are already present in the first half of the show, but at that point they are handled in a much more light-hearted and humorous way. To me, humour drove the serious points home much more effectively than the rather heavy tone adopted after the interval.

But don't let me put you off - this unusual production has plenty going for it. The cast is led by Lindani Nkosi as the Chief - incidentally Nkosi also appears in The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, directed by the late Anthony Minghella, and due to be broadcast on BBC1 on Easter Day. Nkosi presents a Chief who genuinely believes that a sunny disposition, and dispensing good cheer to others will secure forgiveness for his past sins. He can therefore afford to joke with the Devil - portrayed by Pady O'Connor as an amazing, gesticulating mix of Archie Rice in The Entertainer and an on-course bookmaker, who remains in town after last week's Cheltenham Festival race meeting.

But the real stars are the three elephants - two adults and a baby - whose poignant, silent dignity and body language are magically captured by the use of gauzes wrapped round human performers. They make this show.

Elephant continues at the Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham, tonight and tomorrow. Tickets: 01242 572573 or online at www.everymantheatre.org.uko