Celebrating the value of team work and community spirit in time for the EU Referendum, Stephen Sondheim's adult fairy-tale, Into the Woods, is revived in The Quarry Theatre where LEO OWEN caught the show

An impressively cheery and colourful set depicts a primary school classroom celebrating World Fairy-tale Day. Little ones in fancy dress listen attentively as their teacher reads a fairy-tale, weaving between impossibly small chairs while reading from a book, prompting characters to come to life as he speaks. The action occurring around the children is a clever move, justifying the narrator figure while introducing one of the musical's central concerns: the influence of the adult world on impressionable youths.

Colin Richmond's ingenious set avoids clichés and playfully messes with fairy-tale expectations like James Lapine's original story, carefully intertwining and reinventing classic fairy-tales to stick a finger up to narrative arcs and happy endings. As the school set clears, the children venture into the woods to begin a "trip", donning high vis jackets. The story is brought to life as if by the power of the children's imagination with animated projections; hanging swings for trees; characters walking on/off stage via two walkways through the audience; a classroom wendy house doubling up as Jack's house and Rapunzel wheeled on in a tower made from the walls of the classroom.

Rachael Canning's puppet design and direction is perfectly in keeping with the homemade primary school theme. Jack' cow Milky White is animated by the creative utilisation of an old bin with bottles taped to it and pink rubber gloves for udders. Colourful books become birds for Cinderella to summon and the giant is like something from Sid Phillip's tortured toys in Toy Story.

Although the second half is like a dystopian fairy-tale with latter sections seemingly taking inspiration from the set of Mad Max, there is plenty of light relief throughout. Little Red Riding Hood's interactions with the wolf, grandmother and the baker get plenty of chuckles like the comic pairing of Rapunzel and the witch in "Stay With Me". Granny is like something taken straight from The League of Gentleman and slightly psychotic like Little Red Riding Hood. The pint-sized royal brothers one-up-manship in their duet "Agony" elicits hearty snorts from the audience as they ride high on swings. Later princely attempts at courtship are just as tongue-in-cheek: "I was raised to be charming, not sincere."

Dark, funny and moving yet somehow always in keeping with its childhood theme, Into the Woods whizzes through its 150 minutes. A large unanimously strong, energetic and confident cast (including the troupe of child actors), are enchanting to watch. Co-producing with Opera North, Director James Brining accomplishes a faultless production that's incredibly slick for such a technically complicated show with so many plot twists, a live orchestra and complex set demands. Fun, mischievous and flirty for all the family.

Into the Woods shows in the Quarry Theatre, June 8-25.