Hair-raising, heart-warming musical extravaganza from the Swinging Sixties

The Broadway and West End hit stars much-loved screen star Mark Benton as larger-than-life Edna Turnblad, the mother of loveable Baltimore girl Tracy Turnblad.

Mark told Curtain Call: “Yes, I am playing a woman. I dress up in various guises, it’s very glamorous with my dresses and high heels. I have played a woman once before at RADA (Royal Academy of Dramatic Art), but the play was set in a Russian hospital which wasn’t quite the same as this, and not as much fun.”

Fun is something Hairspray certainly is - with singing, dancing and drama. It is set in the 1960s and follows dance-obsessed Tracy, who wins a spot on the local TV dance programme, The Corny Collins Show, and overnight is transformed from outsider to teen celebrity.

It’s not all plain-sailing, as Tracy is determined to use her new-found celebrity to racially integrate the show.

Mark said: “The show has a good message, it’s not just a bit of fluff. It’s about segregation and what happened in the early ‘60s - it’s great to have a really strong message.

“I found it challenging, it’s always nice to do something different but I didn’t know if I could do it or not. It’s scary but also quite exciting, and I give it my best shot.

“It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. It’s such good fun and so uplifting.”

Hairspray also stars Lucy Benjamin, X Factor finalist Marcus Collins, newcomer Freya Sutton and original West End cast member Sandra Marvin.

Mark said: “The cast are so talented and the audiences so far have been fantastic and really get into it. It feels like the whole theatre is full of joy and emotion. If you want to come and see something that will fill you with joy, make you laugh and cry, then Hairspray is the show for you.”