CHRISTMAS is already all around us, and what better way to get into the festive spirit than by going to see Elf the Musical?

Poole & Parkstone Productions Musical Theatre Society are staging the production at Lighthouse, Poole, until Saturday and, judging by the packed auditorium on Wednesday's opening night, it's proved a popular choice.

Based on the 2003 film Elf, the story has been adapted for the stage, and so differs – but only ever so slightly – from the original. It tells the tale of Buddy, an orphan who was raised as an elf in the North Pole after mistakenly crawling into Santa's bag of presents as a baby. All grown up and discovering he's human, he sets out to New York to discover his real family.

With Will Ferrell in the starring role, Elf has become an iconic Christmas movie, so those were big shoes – I mean pointy-toed elf boots – to fill.

Jamie Thompson did a fantastic job of bringing Buddy's irrepressible innocence and energy to the stage, with a fine singing voice to boot, while Katherine Steele's vocals were just beautiful as Jovie.

Special mention must also go to young Austin Redwood who showed huge confidence as Buddy's half-brother Michael, with a spot-on American accent and brilliant singing voice – a true professional.

It's commendable that P&P have managed to bring such a large cast together in an era of socially distanced and on-line rehearsals – none of this was evident on stage, with the ensemble in perfect step with one another.

Some audience participation would have helped to add to the magic when trying to boost Christmas spirit in order to get Santa's sleigh flying, but we still left the theatre feeling "sparklejollytwinklejingly".

Elf the Musical is at Lighthouse, Poole until Saturday, November 27.