Sitting down for the gala performance of 'The Parent Agency', a new family musical, adapted from David Baddiel's best-selling book of the same name, I had a few ideas of what was to come.

Being aimed at children, I was prepared for humour noticeably geared towards a younger audience: perhaps, I'd produce a chuckle here and there.

The result? Not quite what I had expected.

Premiering at Chester's Storyhouse, the play follows Barry just before his eleventh birthday, as he makes a wish for better parents and is whisked away to an alternate universe.

Arriving at 'Youngdon' in the 'United Kid-dom', Barry now resides in a land where kids get to pick out their perfect parents, with the assistance of the staff of the eponymous Parent Agency.

Part of Barry's ideal parents line up were The Fwahms', an energetic fitness-obsessed pair (Image via: Storyhouse Live)

However, Barry soon learns that choosing a new mum and dad isn't as simple as it sounds.

Max Bispham played the role of Barry for this viewing and was simply spectacular, remaining on stage for the vast majority of the performance.

The opening number featured a full ensemble about Barry resenting his name, which he coincidentally shares with his rather silent, yet beloved, grandfather, who also fails to remember their shared name.

For a family musical, I was instantly captivated.

Bispham has a unique grasp over his comedic timing, delivering lines that catered to the adults in the audience, as well as the children, with deft skill.

Barry's mum, Susan, played by Rebecca McKinnis, and dad, Geoff, played by Rakesh Boury, took on a multitude of parental roles, morphing into impressively different versions of Barry's ideal parents.

Longing for a wealthier set of parents, the 'Rador-Wellorffs' burst onto the stage, draped in full hunting-garb, they included every possible upper-class clichéd stereotype that could be squeezed into a musical dance number.

Barry's bedroom evaporates into the Parent Agency headquarters after wishing for better parents (Image via: Storyhouse Live)

Then followed 'The Fwahms', an energetic fitness-obsessed pair.

Wonderfully unpredictable, their appearance led to a full dance number with multiple miniature trampolines dotted across the stage, with club music transporting me to some alternative LA dance workout class.

Barry's third match, the ultra-laid-back duo, exempt of rules and the usage of the word, 'no', Elliot and Mama Cool, created the weakest characters out of the parent line-up for me.

I felt this section of the play fell a bit flat, with the exception of Barry crashing a bus into a herb garden and going wild at a sweets trolley.

Barry's final attempt at finding new parents fell on the influencer power couple, Vlad and Morrissina Vlassorina.

This was spectacular, with beautiful set design and costuming and timely references to the growing influencer-family culture.

Rebecca McKinniss' costume in this scene sparkled, creating a fabulously aesthetically pleasing visual, which echoed throughout the entire play.

Whilst the wider concept, the power of love and the true meaning of family, was evident from the moment I sat down, the play's strength lay in the fact I actually didn't know what was coming next.

The musical will play at Storyhouse until Sunday 2 March 2025, before a planned national tour (Image via: Storyhouse Live)

The creative team excelled, with a superb set design; rightly so, given as an audience we are transported to a mystical alternate universe, where young Barry is met by staff on hoverboards and a looming countdown that determines his own fate.

One doesn't expect to laugh out-loud at a play geared towards children, at least not as much as I found myself doing.

It was also oddly nostalgic, reminiscent of Bo Welch's 2003 film, Cat in the Hat.

For the same reasons I enjoyed that movie as a child, I found myself entirely sucked into the colourful world of 'Youngdon', where conventional rules and ideas are thrown out the back door.

When Barry's bedroom evaporated into the Parent Agency headquarters, I was convinced I was there, following him through this mystical journey.

I followed the play much as I suppose a child would have, sensing that throughout the laughter and ridiculousness of the plot-line, there was the simmering and underlying theme of right and wrong, and what family is all about.

Directed by Tim Jackson, the musical will play at Storyhouse until Sunday 2 March 2025, before a planned national tour and London-run.

Having seen its Chester debut, I have no doubt that the musical will go on to enthrall and entertain many more audiences, both young and old, to come.