“That was the summer of 1963. When everybody called me Baby and it didn’t occur to me to mind. That was before President Kennedy got shot, before the Beatles came, when I couldn’t wait to join the Peace Corps and I thought I’d never find a guy as great as my dad. That was the summer we went to Kellerman’s...”

Francis Houseman – or Baby as she is known – is only seconds into her familiar opening lines when the entire Marlowe theatre erupts.

Such is Dirty Dancing’s popularity – and more latterly on the stage - that the so-far barely-contained excitement of the predominantly female audience can remain in the corner no longer, and as the band’s opening music gathers pace so does the combined heart rate of those in the stalls.

Taking any classic story away from the big screen always feels like such a risk for both the cast and the audience - fearful that the stage production won’t live up to the original magic of the movie.

But I think it is safe to say, if you’re a fan of the film then you will find the stage version of Dirty Dancing as captivating as Johnny Castle dancing the Mambo.

And while we all remember and perhaps even miss the charisma of the late Patrick Swayze, the Marlowe’s cast triumph in bringing masses of the film’s original charm to this record breaking tour.

The characters of Baby, Johnny, Penny, the Houseman’s, Max and Neil Kellerman are portrayed just as you would wish them to be while all of the film’s original hits transport you back to the very first time you ever set eyes on the film.

And by the time Johnny Castle has returned at the end of the story, and we’ve established that Baby won’t be left in a corner of Canterbury never to dance again the audience are ready for a farewell party of their own.

Whoops, cheers and a standing ovation follow, almost as if the itchy feet of theatre-goers won’t go quietly until they’ve had a cha cha cha of their own in the aisles.

Dirty Dancing is at the Marlowe Theatre, Canterbury until Saturday, August 22.