I’m a sucker for funk — you have to be careful when you say those words — and Been So Long, Arthur Darvill and Che Walker’s musical reworking of the latter’s 1998 play, positively bristles with sassy riffs and layered rhythms.

Set in a failing London bar called Arizona, Been So Long is about the collision of sex, affection, vengeance and dreams. First we see lovelorn barman Barney; then sportswear-clad Gil, who wants to get his own back on Raymond, the playboy who stole his girl; then Simone and Yvonne, young women intent on having a good time and on telling the world all about it; and finally Raymond himself, a study in taut muscle and plagiarised chat‑up lines. The five of them become embroiled in a circus of misunderstanding, profane fantasy, vicious cusses and reconciliation.

The story is paper-thin, and the acting a little uneven but the vocal performances make the production fly. Harry Hepple’s Gil looks for all the world like Mike Skinner’s The Streets, and talks like him, too, but when he sings it’s in a sweet tenor.

Nu-soul legend Omar brings his familiar jazz-tinged sound to Barney (and is dismayingly underused), while Cat Simmons is sexily vulnerable, and Arinze Kene endows the less fully developed role of Raymond with gravity. As Yvonne, the sort of woman who slides in an instant from emasculating harpy into garrulous sexpot, Naana Agyei-Ampadu displays real power.

At its best Darvill’s music is thrilling, reminiscent of the classic Stax sound, and his small band excels — rarely can a bass guitar have played quite such an important part in a musical but then I can’t recall having seen a character in a musical singing while brandishing a machete.

Occasionally Walker’s direction seems static, and there are moments when the action drags. Although the lyrics are often very funny, the spoken passages oscillate puzzlingly between street talk and rococo polysyllables. But this is a feelgood production: it’s a show that wins you over, and by the end there is a good chance you’ll feel like dancing.

Until 15 July (020 7922 2922).