Written by Dan Goggin, Nunsense is an utterly irreverent but enjoyable piece of musical theatre involving some delightful dialogue along the lines of “How do you make holy water?” The answer is simple: “Boil the hell out of it!”

Those whose sensibilities may be offended should stay at home but for those who attend Crawford College, La Lucia’s production of Nunsense currently running at the Elizabeth Sneddon Theatre until Saturday evening are in for a fun night out. With the cast dressed in nun’s habits, delivering mature performances and showing a flair for comedy, it’s easy to forget that their ages range from 14 to just-turned 18!

Disaster has befallen the Little Sisters of Hoboken. Their ever-adventurous cook concocted a vichyssoise that struck 52 of their number dead with botulism. Most have been buried but the burial money ran out – also thanks to the Mother Superior’s rash decision to buy a VCR. So, until they could raise enough money, the five survivors have bundled the last remaining four corpses into their freezer. The show is built around the preparations for a fund-raising concert to inter their colleagues and a race against time before the health inspector’s next visit!

Pieter Toerien presented Nunsense in Durban some years ago which brought to the public’s attention a new crop of musical performers that were to take the theatre world by storm: Kate Normington, Gaby Lomberg, Natalie Gamsu, Suanne Braun and Marilyn van Reenen.

Giving their professional predecessors a fairly good run for their money in the Crawford College production are five senior drama students. Lesley Brandon, complete with soft Irish brogue as the Reverend Mother, delivers a consistently solid performance. She has a delightful scene when she innocently sniffs a mind-altering substance and, dissolving into giggles, gets high as a kite. As her reverend sister - and sister in real life - Sarah Brandon is a laconic and pithy Sister Hubert who belts out a strong gospel number at the end.

The other members of the cast are the three younger nuns (all 14) who perform a delightful trio as the convent’s equivalent to the Andrews Sisters. Caryn van Rooyen is the streetwise Sister Mary Robert Anne who is desperate to get on the stage – any stage! - while Inge Koekemoer plays Sister Mary Leo, the ballet-crazed postulant whose ambition it is to be the first nun in a tutu. Particularly impressive was Gillian Colledge as Sister Amnesia. Sure, it’s a peach of a part, but she handled it extremely well and gave a polished and focused performance. This is a name to watch.

This is a demanding piece for the five performers and designer and director Gareth Kenna is to be congratulated in his staging. Nunsense also featured a sympathetic and well-balanced four piece band led by Chloe Timothy, with Gareth filling in as backing vocalist with Lyn Ross.

Performances are at 19h30 and tickets at R30 can be booked through Computicket.