The team have gone off-piste big time, performing an opera they've never undertaken before. It's fast, it's slick, the lighting's a challenge – no less than 75 lighting cues – film footage, a tap routine, a unicyclist and dancing bathing beauties.

What's more, Kelso is only the second company in Scotland to be staging the new Mack and Mabel, for the licencing company only released its sharpened-up script in the last six months.

Afficionados will find the same great music, the visuals just as spectacular. It's only the script that's changed, now tripping along at twice the speed.

Comedy silent film-maker Mack Sennet (James Millar) 'discovers' Mabel Normand (Pooee Pitman) after she disrupts a film take delivering food.

Mack offers her a job and falls in love with her. But the course of true love doesn't run smooth (otherwise we'd all be back home drumming our fingers and catching the end of Corrie, yawn).

Mabel is lured away by smoothie melodrama director, W. D. Taylor (Ian Fairnington). The studio moves to Hollywood, Mack secures financing (through Neil Thomson and Ian Stark), churns out 'two-reelers' and creates the Bathing Beauties and the Keystone Kops (who are unreservedly brilliant). But it's not the same without Mabel. Leading studio personalities beg Mack to ask her back. But it doesn't work out – and she leaves for Europe with W. D. Taylor again. And then she's accused of murdering him.

The energy of the show is exciting. It's a visual feast, a riot of wonderfully-choreographed movement and colour and, though opportunities for the chorus to strut their stuff are limited, when they do, hold onto your hats for they give new meaning to 'gusto'.

The leads turn in fine performances: James Millar has a rich voice and positively inhabited the director's role. Pooee Pitman auditioned for the X Factor last summer ... her voice is wonderful, her performance assured. Watch out for truly inspired slapstick sketches when Julie Dickson as Lottie Ames and Murray Potts as Fatty Arbuckle excel. The talent of young Allan Thomson is worth nurturing while, in this show, Neil Thomson is underutilised. Dancer Elaine Peace is exhilarating (and hilarious with her panto horse partner in the early moments of the show). Big congrats too, to all those tap dancers who mastered their steps in just a few short months – and to Ian Stark for his recently-acquired unicycling abilities.

Kate said: "It's gone very well. It's been an incredibly difficult show to do because it's so complex. Technically it's difficult but everyone has worked incredibly hard. The music is just fantastic – I think it's about the best music score I have heard in a very long time and I think that's one of the real strengths of the show. We've had an immense amount of fun."

Kate and musical director Henry Thompson chose the challenge – and found large sections of it devoid of direction.

Kate explains: "They don't tell you what scenes to do – we had to invent them, make them all up. There was 10 pages of music for the Keystone Kops and not one indication of what was supposed to happen. That was fun!"

Her highlights? "The Keystone Kops are great fun – I was pleased with that – and I think the little robber (Lewis McCran) works well (he does]. The music is a major highlight – there's not a bad song in it – and the script is a great improvement – it's more pithy – and there's the fun of the visuals.

"The music and show is very different to anything seen in Kelso before. It's a totally different style to anything we've ever done before and we hope we'll give our audience a few laughs and a really nice visual treat."

They do.

PRINCIPAL AND SUPPORTING CAST
Mack Sennet – James Millar; Mabel Normand – Pooee Pitman; Frank Wyman/Charlie Chaplin – Allan Thomson; Ella/young lady with parasol – Kirsten Bentley; Lottie Ames – Julie Dickson; Fatty Arbuckle – Murray Potts; W D. Taylor/Red Indian/big robber/baddie – Ian Fairnington; Kessel –unicyclist – Ian Stark; Bauman/villain – Neil Thomson; Freddie/props assistant – Guy Lee; Cameraman – Richard Mather; Lighting man – Clive Innes; Clapperboard boy/little robber/newsboy – Lewis McCran; Offstage Director/sauve actor/writer/ships passenger – Bill Hunter; Offstage assistant director/carpenter with plank – John Cove; Costume mistress – Maria Oliver; Props mistress/ship's passenger – Margaret Campbell; Props assistant – Corinne Joicey; Props assistant/Red Indian/flunky & Doc – Peter Boyd; Auditioning actresses – Nic Horlock, Jackie McPhee; Actresses – Kirsty Bird, Louise Stewart; Autograph hunter/ships passenger – May Lowrie; Script writer/Red Indian/baddie/Louie – Dougie Douglas; Secretary – Christian Fuchs; Piano shifters – Simon Oldham/Allan Blaikie; Char Lady – Rae Redpath; Char lady/lady with stolen handbag – Mary Thomson; Wardrobe mistresses – Irene Wilson, Brenda Wright; Glamorous ship's passenger – Kirsty Baird; Panto horse front/gorilla – Elaine Peace; Panto horse rear/Nanny with pram – Jude Oldham; Ships passenger (the daughter) – Saskia Peace.
ORCHESTRA
Violins: Tony Kime, Barbara Mythen, Claire Taylor; Viola: Chris Cameron; Cello: Robert Hoppee; Reeds: Christine Smith, Georgia Aitkenhead, Paul Cormie, Daniel T. Ward; Horn: Pippa Emerson; Trumpets: Andrew Bruce, John Mabon, Sylvia Smail; Trombones: Robert Fraser, Erin Stevenson; Tuba: Graham Fraser; percussion: Allie Young, Kit Muir; Piano: Anne Campbell; Rehearsal Pianists: Anne Campbell, Ailsa Aitkenhead.
CREDITS
Prompts: Isabel Amos, Moira Walsh; Stage and programme cover/poster design: Liz Hird; Stage Management: Tom Tokely, Simon Oldham; Stagehands: Chris Reynolds, Ross Glendinning; Scenery: Border Studios, Selkirk plus own workshop; Stage Lighting: Dougie Squance, David Thomson, Peter Small; Sound: Dave Angus; AV Technician: David Thomson; Property: Jane Fairbairn; Wardrobe: Rosemary McDonald; Hair: Susan Glendinning; Make-up: Christine Henderson, Eileen Hogarth, Kayte Halliday; Wardrobe Assistant/make-up: Marion Lowrie; Costumes: Utopia Costumes Ltd; Show Photographs: Alistair Innes of Hector Innes Photography; Filming: Gerry Taylor; Film Locations: Sir Michael and Lady Strang Steel; Costume Storage: Mrs Salvesen; Silent Movie Villain: Mike Young.