WHEN York playwright Mike Kenny's Cinderella was premiered in 2009, the West Yorkshire Playhouse coined the phrase "Big Stories for Little People" to describe his brand of Christmas alternatives to pantomime.

Revived by Mark Babych as his first Christmas show as Hull Truck artistic director, it is now called a "family Christmas production", and is still very definitely not a pantomime, more a junkyard musical, but as beautiful in spirit as any show in Yorkshire this winter.

Ostensibly, Cinderella is for young children, but it would be a shame if adults missed out on arguably the best of Kenny's magical adaptations for the wintertime. This is the one with five rats, one romance and no cheese, and please don't let nyfitsaphobia put you off just because the stage is over-run with rodents; not only the rat pack of actor-musicians but a supporting cast with tails protruding from their jeans.

Louise Shuttleworth's Tail, Rhys Saunders's Teeth, York actor Michael Lambourne's Claws, Nicholas Goode's rock'n'rolling Ears and Laurie Jamieson's Italian Whiskers combine storytelling roles with playing assorted characters in the moving tale of Annabel Betts's orphaned Cinderella. She must be the saddest Cinderella you will see, left with only a sweet briar plant as a memento of her mother, whose death so marks her life. You can feel her pain in a way pantomime never allows.

The rats in dapper hats tell the story their way, as they sing, dance, squabble, switch from character to character and support "Lella", alias Cinderella, at all times. To cap it all, they play myriad instruments, from drums to trumpet, mandolin to cello, saxophone to piano, the songs varying from Russian polkas to an audience singalong of Let's All To To The Ball in a brilliant score by musical director James Frewer.

Goode's Ears sings December 1963 (Oh, What A Night) in the style of South Yorkshireman John Shuttleworth, and when Betts's Cinderella sings "I'm Nothing", Jamieson's Prince replies "She's everything" from the balcony in a romantic moment on a par with Falling Slowly, the beauteous duet from Once.

There is a subliminal socialism in MIke Kenny's writing, be it his version of The Wind In The Willows, or in Cinderella becoming the Prince's bride only if he changes. Rather than a fairy godmother, Lella has a guardian angel, the spirit of her mother.

Rhys Saunders's camp and wonderfully Welsh This'Un and Michael Lambourne's Edwardian bearded That'Un, in their bling-glittered zip-up tops, are Ugly Sisters for today, gloriously grotesque.

Kenny has his Prince struggling with his pre-ordained role, Laurie Jamieson's reluctant royal caught between innate arrogance and a wish to break the mould. The effect is to make his plays much more substantial than mere children's entertainment while still being amusing and enchanting.

Babych's direction is spot-on, complemented by Sian Thomas's inventive costume designs and a set design by Ciaran Bagnall that combines a central wheel of prop drawers and cupboards with more cupboards, steps and a balcony supported by branches and bare trees that light up at night.

The shopping trolley /carriage transformation scene tops it all as Hull Truck's revival under Babych gathers pace.

Cinderella, Hull Truck Theatre, until January 10 2015. Box office: 01482 323638 or hulltruck.co.uk