Cruel Intentions on stage is a sexy, smirky riot

THIS deliciously trashy musical adaptation of the 1999 film inserts Nineties pop classics into its story of cynical sexual shenanigans among privileged New York teens.

- Nick Curtis

A fast, funny, guilty pleasure, it's a fitting tribute to the popular touch of its late producer Bill Kenwright.

Cruelly, the screen role of archschemer Kathryn Merteuil was the last major career high for Sarah Michelle Gellar (who bracingly tells us to turn our phones off in a pre-show voiceover here). On stage, it proves a breakout vehicle for Rhianne-Louise McCaulsky who has a belting soul-gospel crossover voice, and embodies the slinky perversity that makes the show zing. Her biography lists mostly tours and understudy work, plus a stint in Six. This swaggering turn should make her a star.