A fine combination of talents serves to make this musical remake of the 1998 play Been So Long an evening of very satisfying entertainment. Directed by Che Walker, the “laureate of Camden Town”, with music by Arthur Darvill, it allows a lot of scope for songs performed by Omar, the widely acclaimed soul singer, and several other vocalists.

Barney (Omar) is the bartender in a nightclub that’s about to close its doors for the last time. Simone, a single mother and her pal Yvonne (who’s a little more “out front”) are looking for love, or at least action. They run into Raymond the stud and his pal Gil the nerd, and it gets a bit complicated.

Simone falls for Raymond, who has just stolen Gil’s girlfriend. Gil, who would like to murder Raymond, instead finds himself in the arms of the brazen Yvonne. Barney, who is also enamoured of Simone, watches (and sings) philosophically while the rest of the cast runs the gamut from love to hate and back again.

Cat Simmons as Simone is seriously sexy and Naana Agyei-Ampadu as Yvonne is charmingly gritty. Arinze Kene does a remarkable job with his Cassanova-turned-cuddler role as Raymond, and Harry Hepple is a wonderfully vengeful and nerdy Gil.

The musical score, for the most part, complements the often raunchy dialogue. A mixture of blues, soul, funk, jazz and reggae keeps the mostly upbeat beat going strong. You can count on some good music, some good earthy dialogue and some good cynical fun from this slice of street life at Barney’s bar.