Successful it may be, but hip-hop is not the innovative genre it once was. Bling, misogyny and violence have bloated it to the point that a whole countermovement would like to return it to its more positive roots, when artistry was what mattered. Now these efforts can be experienced in the West End, as the Novello plays host to hip-hop theatre from the ZooNation dance company.

Kate Prince’s production, which arrives after success on the Edinburgh Fringe and a tour, is a modern take on fairy tales, in which characters such as Spinderella, Rap-on-Zel and Lil’ Red and her Wolf are relocated to the Ruff Endz estate. But, frankly, stuff the narrative: this is an excuse for more than 100 minutes of relentless dancing, without interval, to an ever-skipping soundtrack of everything from rap to jive to trip-hop. The cast of dancers are raring to go, and the crowd are, too; still, there might have been yet more reaction in a less formal, more intimate venue. And the desire to emphasise the best in hip-hop means that the show is not only good-natured, but positively sanitised.

Few risks are being taken here, in the choreography as much as the themes.

It’s a great show when the soundtrack stops flitting and focuses on a certain song (Massive Attack’s Teardrop, for instance, is used to great effect). Beyond the smiles, however, you sometimes yearn for a bit more spice and punch.

Explore Stage

• Theatre

• Comedy

• Opera

• Dance

Editor's choice

• Tom Cruise: 25 things you may or may not know
• Uma's pulp (non-)fiction
• The top 10 fan versus band scuffles