From Viola in Twelfth Night to Hilary Swank in Boys Don't Cry, women dressed as men have always made for intriguing drama.
It is no different in this powerful American musical, adapted from Maggie Greenwald's 1993 film of the same name, itself based on a true story.
In 1868, at the age of 17, respectable young Boston lady Josephine Monaghan has had an illegitimate child, left home to make her fortune, been robbed, serially raped, scarred herself, cut off her hair, pretended to be a man and got a job as a silver miner in Nowheresville, Idaho.
We learn all this in the breathless opening scenes of Mike Reid and Sarah Schlesinger's work and, ghastly as Jo's lot is, it is hard to sympathise overmuch with a character who has not settled before us.
That all changes when the excellent Anna Francolini unleashes torrents of raw anguish in Everything That Touched Her, and from then on, it is total emotional immersion in a story which its authors commendably refuse to wrap in the musical genre's customary sugar-coating.
The era of the great American frontier dream is well evoked, with a thoughtful portrayal of the rise and fall in the fortunes of this tiny mining community.
The music and lyrics err on the side of Sondheim, sophisticated rather than instantly hummable - and a good couple of the 22 songs could easily be pushed down a deep mineshaft - but are beautifully delivered by a well-tuned cast in Carol Metcalfe's sensitive production. A musical experience about as far from Toyah's Calamitous Jane as it is possible to get.
Until 26 July. Box office: 020 7936 3456.
The Ballad Of Little Jo
