THIS week Edinburgh's Festival Theatre is hosting the incredible premiere of the British Tour of “The Addams Family” musical, with all the finger-clicking lunacy you would expect, writes our theatre critic Kerry Black.

While The King’s had murder and a mortuary, the Festival has musical mayhem, as TV’s favourite dysfunctional family come to life-and call up the dead! - in a witty, glorious Gothic fairytale.

The show features TV favourites Les Dennis as a surprisingly tender Uncle Fester, who acts as narrator and frequently breaks the fourth wall and Samantha Womack as vamp extraordinaire Morticia, who appears to float across the stage, until her sizzling Argentine Tango number!

However, the stand out performer in this show is Cameron Blakely as Gomez. Looking like the long lost brother of Harry the Spiv from St Trinians and Bruce Forsyth, he tweaks every possible comic nuance from this deranged drama.

Carrie Hope Fletcher (who was last seen here as Truly Scrumptious), punks up Wednesday with her rock steady voice as she pleads to be allowed to marry All American Boy, Lucas (Oliver Ormson). Oliver’s WASPish parents (the wonderful Charlotte Page and Dale Rapley) are pushed from their crimplene cocoon into the manic Addams’ mansion!

With Grant McIntyre as Pugsley and the raucous Valda Aviks as the drug-toting, pram-pushing Grandma, this is never going to be “One Normal Night” - even Lurch (Dickon Gough) sings!

With a full supporting cast of decaying ghouls, incredibly costumed by designer Diego Pitarch, the atmospheric set and lighting whirls and burls to a gloriously dark finale.

The Festival Theatre has acted as Associate Producer for this show and must be thrilled with the audience’s reaction. I have the Broadway CD and was intrigued by the updated song changes to Lippa’s original score, even Trump got a mention. In the words of Sammy Cahn, “Musicals aren’t written, they’re rewritten!”

Why not take your family to see The Addams Family in Edinburgh Festival Theatre till Saturday 29th April, you’re just a finger click away. Tel 0131 529 6000