YOU know that sense of disappointment you get when you really look forward to something but when it arrives it doesn’t quite fit – like a mail order dress. Well, that’s a bit how I felt after watching Georgia May Foote star as Holly Golightly in Breakfast at Tiffany’s at the Bristol Hippodrome last night.

True, there’s only ever going to be one Audrey Hepburn, but I think I expected something better from the petite star of Coronation Street and, more recently, Strictly Come Dancing. Maybe it was the unkempt wig, maybe it was the less-than-chic costume, or maybe it was the slightly dodgy accent, but Georgia definitely seemed to be channelling Doris Day rather than the dazzlingly dippy Holly that most have come to expect. It doesn’t help that we have all been overloaded with publicity stills of a rather sophisticated-looking, dark-haired Georgia in recent weeks; this isn’t really the Holly Golightly we were all encouraged to buy into.

It should have been a strong cast. Matt Barber, playing Fred, trained at Bristol Old Vic but is best known for his role as Atticus Aldridge in Downton Abbey. Matt could perhaps be considered the link which bound all the characters together, and he played the role well, but sadly he was unable to maintain a steady accent. Victor McGuire is also a well-known face of stage and screen, and deserves a mention as Joe Bell, but even he wasn’t able to resurrect a show which, sadly, promised much and delivered little.

Part of the problem is the story itself; it’s notoriously weak. Truman Capote’s frivolous tale of Miss Golighly and her star-crossed lovers certainly has little ‘meat’ to its bones, but it’s escapism at its finest and the producers of this show deserve credit for making it watchable at least.

The set was good, the lighting was good and the music was good. The trouble was, it just wasn’t good enough, and this was reflected in the half-hearted applause at the end of the show.

What a shame.