WHEN Whitney Houston died earlier this year, admirers worldwide mourned her passing. Her hits rang out from every radio station and friends, family and fans paid tribute to one of the most successful female singers of all time.

So it was hardly surprising when just months later it was revealed that a musical version of the film The Bodyguard, in which Houston starred, was to hit the West End.

Last night the production opened at The Adelphi Theatre on the Strand. While one might have expected it to be a rather schmaltzy tribute show, The Bodyguard is anything but.

I never saw the 1992 film and have never considered myself to be a Houstonfan, so my expectations for the evening were not especially high. Yet the truth is that neither is a prerequisite for seeing the show.

The storyline is pretty simple. Rachel Marron is a hugely successful pop singer who has a mystery stalker. Former Secret Service agent Frank Farmer is hired to protect her and try and track down the unsavoury character. The singer and her bodyguard clash at first, then gradually overcome their differences and fall in love.

There are no hidden depths to this tale, so don’t go expecting Shakespeare or Chekhov.

However, that does not stop it from being a thoroughly enjoyable show with something all too often absent from the theatre – the feel-good factor. US actress Heather Headley is outstanding in the lead role. Her powerful voice is magnificent and she glows with charisma.

Rachel’s sister Nicki is played by Debbie Kurup, another female powerhouse. The male lead is played by Lloyd Owen, who is not quite Kevin Costner but comes a pretty good second. Rachel has a son, Fletcher, who is played by one of six different boys. On the night I went, it was the turn of Malaki Paul – who you may recall from the semi-finals of Britain’s Got Talent last year.

If you’re someone who doesn’t especially like musical theatre, The Bodyguard could be the show to convert you. On the whole, the characters do not spontaneously burst into song. The music is integrated and the story has not been adapted to be told through Whitney’s greatest hits.

I was surprised at how many of Whitney’s songs I actually knew and just how catchy some of them are. By the end of the show, I was up in the aisles with the rest of the audience singing, dancing and – I confess – even whooping, to the sounds of I Wanna Dance With Somebody.

The Bodyguard at The Adelphi Theatre is currently booking until 27 April 2013

I’d sum up the Young Vic’s new production, I Am The Wind as “two men in a boat, waiting for Godot”.

There’s something very Beckettian about this mysterious two-hander. For much of the play, it’s difficult to discern precisely what’s going on. Two men, simply identified in the script as The One and The Other, head out to sea on a boat. But from the broken, ambiguous opening (“I didn’t want to / I just did it”) emerges a powerful, emotionally fractured play.

Questions swirl around the actors like ripples in the bleak puddle-of-water set. Who are these men? Are they brothers, friends, strangers, or even two parts of the same consciousness?

Simon Stephens’s script (a translation of Jon Fosse’s contemporary fable by Simon Stephens) is sparse and monosyllabic, as economical as the set. Gorgeous lighting (Dominique Bruguiere) and atmospheric music (Eric Neveux) build a captivating “otherworld” inside the Young Vic, but it’s up to the two actors on stage to fill what, on paper, looks like an empty, bleak show.

Under the masterly direction of Patrice Chéreau, the characters step and stumble falteringly around tricky subjects: the nature of depression, desire and death. Tom Brooke (The One) and Jack Laskey (The Other) pour deep pools of emotion into their different characters: the former, an empty, hollowed-out, sometimes infuriating depressive with his gaze fixed on the middle distance; the latter more immediate, more caring, closer to the audience, but confused by his companion.

I Am The Wind certainly won’t be to everyone’s taste. It’s very different, and at times, quite difficult. But I thought there was something rather moving in it: within the short, choppy story, you might find something uplifting too.

I Am The Wind plays at the Young Vic until 21 May. Book tickets at www.youngvic.com

Bruce Norris’ Clybourne Park has moved neighbourhood with far more ease than any of its characters: from an award-winning run at the Royal Court, it now both shines and stuns in the West End.

A sharp satire on racial prejudice in America, Clybourne Park has its audiences squirming and laughing in equal measures, as its acutely drawn residents tiptoe and blunder through a minefield of race, prejudice, language and property.

The first act is set in 1959. A white couple have sold their Chicago home to escape the tragedy of their war-veteran son’s suicide. The buyers happen to be a black family, and the local residents association are virulent in their opposition. Alongside the harrowing spectacle of a couple destroyed by tragedy come the ghastly revelations of the neighbours’ racism, in full hearing of the black servants. In one toe-curling moment, Rotarian Carl (Stephen Campbell Moore) asks why you don’t see any black skiers; evidence, he believes, of differences that should continue through to their choice of housing.

In the second, we see the same Chicago house fought over by a young white couple in 2009. This time, the black Americans control the residents’ committee, and they want the cultural significance of the neighbourhood preserved. Or, do they just want keep white families out?

What might sound a little contrived actually packs more of a punch by showing us the same actors in different roles 50 years later. Norris’ dialogue is razor sharp, from the dated “yes’ms” of the 1950s to the politically correct rhetoric which ultimately collapses in on itself in the later act. “Half of my friends are black!” cries Lindsey (Sarah Goldberg), as the proud Lena (Lorna Brown, utterly convincing) provokes more and more outrage. The play peels away at liberal hypocrisy; eventually the ugly feelings and resentments explode in a show-down of shamefully racist jokes.

Add to this great script a phenomenal cast (Sophie Thompson shines as both put-upon 50s housewife Bev and myopic lawyer Kathy) who really draw you in with their slick, naturalistic performances, and you have a fantastically provocative show.

Clybourne Park plays at Wyndham’s Theatre until 7 May. Book tickets here.

Jerusalem, Jez Butterworth’s award-winning play, opened in the West End last night at the Apollo Theatre.

I was lucky enough to see a preview performance last week. Jerusalem is incredible: funny, thought-provoking and refreshingly different. And Mark Rylance’s performance as the central character, Johnny “Rooster” Byron, is quite spectacular.

It was also impressive to see how many celebs were in the audience. We spotted Clive Owen, Felicity Kendal, Ben Miller, Nigel Planer and one of the Spandau Ballet boys. It’s clearly the show to be seen at!

We asked some (non-celebs) in the audience for their views on the play:

Barry, 33, from South Woodford
“If you only see one play this year, go and see Jerusalem. Beg, steal (well maybe not that) or borrow the money: it’s well worth it. Mark Rylance is beyond brilliant.”

John, 28, from Northampton
“I thought it had everything: it was funny, challenging and beautiful. Mark Rylance’s performance is an incredible feat and it was the best night I’ve had at the theatre for ages. And the celeb-filled audience was the icing on the cake!”

Jean, grandmother, from Bristol
“The language may be blue in this green and not always pleasant land – but this is an extraordinary piece of theatre. Mark Rylance’s performance is electrifying.”

Lilac, 32, from Sydney
“Jerusalem is a rollicking rollercoaster of emotion, enjoyment and evangelism – although not in the obvious sense. We’ve all known, if not been, the “king of the kids” at some point in our lives and I observed the antics of “Rooster”  Byron with equal parts nostalgia and relief! The play is thought-provoking, poignant and also bloody funny. Well worth seeing.”

Jenny, 27, from Essex
“I agree with all the praise for Mark Rylance’s performance – one of the most gruelling I have seen as he is on stage for almost the entire duration of the play, which clocks in at more than three hours.”

Josephine, just over 40, from Mortlake
“This is the best play I’ve seen in ages – funny, moving, razor-sharp dialogue, original, memorable. The main character dominates proceedings brilliantly, though the rest of the cast move in and out of focus superbly well. As well as a good laugh, the story really makes you think about life’s values. Not for readers of the Daily Mail.”