HEREFORD Musical Theatre Company's current production, Girls Night, delivers exactly what it promises - the audience on opening night was predominantly female though there was equally enthusiastic laughter from the handful of men at the Tomkins Theatre.

The cleverly constructed drama sees a quartet of friends meeting in a karaoke bar to celebrate the engagement of Candi Rose (named after Candi Staton - cue Young Hearts Run Free - and Rose Royce), the daughter of their old friend Sharon, killed in a moped accident more than two decades earlier.

Tension is in the air from the off as we quickly realise that the bonds between the four are deep but complicated, and as the buried truths of their friendship and their relationships are gradually revealed, the evening takes a darker turn.

Liza, Kate, Anita and Carol have been friends since school, but there's the suggestion that Sharon's death may have served as the glue that keeps them close. And Sharon, from her lofty vantage point (complete with heavenly wings) is quick to take credit and evade blame for what happens as long-hidden secrets surface.

Why does Liza keep threatening to leave the husband who adores her? Why has Carol failed to find the man of her dreams? And why is Kate acting so uncharacteristically in the karaoke bar? The answer is, of course, that life is messy and the past will inevitably catch up with us all - and all the truths that seep out are wittily counterpointed with a perfectly chosen track - Kate reflects on her young self with At Seventeen, while Anita's Everlasting Love pays tribute to Geoff, the husband who offers unstinting love and support. Carol's moving Don't Cry Out Loud adds poignancy to a heartbreaking revelation and Liza looks back with If I Could Turn Back Time.

But the biggest secret is yet to come and Sarah Phillips as Kate gave the stand-out performance in a night of infectious singing as she took to the microphone to sing Cry Me a River, which foreshadows what's to come.

Girls Night is a great mix of laughs, songs and drama - and Maddy Robinson, Clare Martin, Sarah Phillips, Amber Alexander and Bex Taylor as Sharon, Anita, Kate, Liza and Carol respectively brought the five women's characters vividly to life and the audience to its feet for the final energetic performances of two guaranteed floor-fillers, Dancing Queen and It's Raining Men.

A show that's out-and-out good fun ... and a reminder that friends and family are with you when the going gets tough.

Girls Night is at The Tomkins Theatre until Saturday, April 30. To book, go to ticketsource.co.uk/hmtc or call 0333 666 3366