A 40-year-old musical version of a ludicrous fairytale, which began life at a New York summer camp, took Broadway by storm and now receives around 600 productions across the world annually, might initially seem to be a peculiar choice for the Lyric Theatre's Christmas show. But John Sheehan's slick, stylish production takes its lead from the double-entendre of the title, fully living up to the child's view of Hans Anderson's The Princess and the Pea while revelling in the sophisticated, nudge-andwink humour of Rodgers and Barer's subversively clever adaptation.

One by one, a gallery of amusingly-drawn medieval characters appear: court ladies; knights; a wizard; a minstrel; a jester; a mute king; a bossy queen; a gormless prince; and a feisty princess called Fred, for whom the wet-behind-the-ears Prince Dauntless falls like a ton of bricks.

But there is an air of desperation about his romantic yearnings. Of all the prospective brides he has viewed, not one has been good enough. More to the point, nobody else in the court can marry until Dauntless ties the knot. Thus, unwanted pregnancies ensue, illicit lovers grow middle-aged and the vacancy is looking increasingly difficult to fill.

As the rebelliously dumb king, Jack Walsh's superb mime skills tickle the kids and titivate the grown-ups; Stella McCusker's hysterical Queen is more ridiculous than evil; David Rolston is the original innocent abroad as the prince, whose dumb-show lesson from his father about the birds and the bees is one of the evening's comic high spots; and Shona Lindsay is a huge hit as the loud-mouthed Princess Winifred.

At the Lyric until 13th January. To book phone Belfast 90381081.