A TRIP to the south of France is a welcome break to our autumnal skies, and a perfect chance to forget your woes.

And that’s just what Burnley Light Opera Society’s production of La Cage Aux Folles brings to the Mechanics theatre.

It’s glitzy and glamorous, sparkling and sensational, and well placed to get you in the tinsel mood for Christmas with tonnes of pantomime-style innuendo - not to mention a healthy smattering of men dressed as women.

Georges and Albin, played by James Cockerill and David Norris, have their idyllic St Tropez life threatened when George’s son Jean-Michel (Adam Whittle) wants to introduce his future in-laws, the Dindons, to his parents.

But his unusual family will not go down well with politician Dindon, who wants to shut all the transvestite clubs in the area - including Georges’ and Albin’s notorious La Cage Aux Folles, home to the infamous Cagelles.

James and David’s relationship as the challenged couple was believable and each gave fantastically strong performances in all areas.

Sadly, the relationship between James and Adam as his son did not work; whether it was the actors’ ages not adding up as father and son, or something more I can’t put my finger on.

I also found Adam’s accent rather grating and distracting amid the principal cast.

In fact, the mish-mash of accents - taking in broad Lanky, French, upper-class English and a dash of American - was generally a bit off putting for me.

Director Anthony Williams as Jacob the maid was obviously having a blast, and was something of a scene stealer; but the real stars of the show were the Cagelles, and their dazzling array of costumes - most of which had been made in-house.

Fantastic work by wardrobe, they looked utterly stunning in these very ‘special creations’.

Anthony’s choreography for the Cagelles was brilliant too, simple but oh-so effective allowing each and every one of them to sparkle.

With good performances delivered by all the principals, cameos, and one-liners, I felt the general ensemble en-masse was on the weak side.

When the tight orchestra really took off, a lot of the lyrics in the big numbers were lost - a shame, as what I could make out of the vocals was beautiful just lacking in power, depth, and perhaps not enough micing.

That said, this is not a show which thrives or dies on its chorus input, so this didn’t make too much of an impact on my overall experience and this was a slick and highly-polished production.

* Until November 19. Tickets from 01282 664400.