"IT'S talent worthy of a West End stage".

That's what I'd told pretty much everyone since seeing Ross-on-Wye based youth theatre group X-entricity for the first time.

So, taking my family to see the group's latest show, Legally Blonde, there was just a little bit of pressure. But of course, as usual, I was blown away by the sheer talent of this young cast.

For those who don't know the story, Legally Blonde is the tale of glamorous sorority girl Elle Woods who, we learn at the opening, is expecting a proposal from her boyfriend Warner Huntington III any minute.

But she's left heartbroken when he tells her he needs to 'marry a Jackie, not a Marilyn' and despite support from her Delta Nu sorority girls and adorable little dog Bruiser she decides to follow her heart and try to get into Harvard law school to win Warner back.

And that's where the fun starts as the audience sees Elle's transition from ditzy blonde to super successful law student while never losing sight of who she is.

She does have some help along the way in the form of the adorable Emmett Forrest who quite rightly tells her not to waste the chance she's been given and Paulette Bonafonte - the beautician who's there to listen and advise while also sharing her own dreams of meeting an Irishman (this later makes for one of the most hilarious scenes of the show).

Lauren Hughes is superb as Elle Woods, playing the character with warmth and charm as well as impressing with outstanding vocals.

Lewis Booton was perfect as charming Mr-Nice-Guy Emmett Forrest while Emily Gardner was also excellent as kooky Paulette Bonafonte. 

Equally entertaining were Matt Lawrence as Warner Huntington III and Ellie Scrivens, who delivered another outstanding performance as uptight Vivienne Kensington.

There were also superb performances from Ben Abbott as the formidable Callahan, Jess Burton as Brook Wyndham and Chloe Darrell as Enid while Rees Matthews was excellent as UPS guy Kyle (complete with his own theme tune).

The girls of the Greek chorus - Holly Clack as Margot, Olivia Hunt as Serena and Olivia Dalton as Pilar - were also brilliant and added depth to Elle's character while providing genius comedy moments.

Special mention must also go to pooches Arnie and Ethel whose four-legged cameos were met with 'oohs and aahs' from the delighted audience.

But each member of the talented cast and production crew deserves a shout-out for being part of such an uplifting, feel-good fun production – you'll have to pinch yourself to remember it's all local people and not a London-based theatre group with a huge budget.

While the show doesn't shy away from poking fun at its own genre, there's also an important message that, as Vivienne summises during the group's graduation, being true to yourself never goes out of style.

With songs that'll stay in your head for, ohmygod at least 24 hours, a laugh-out-loud script and a bucket-load of talent, it's another triumph from X-entricity.

Visit courtyard.org.uk/events/legally-blonde-x-entricity/ for tickets.