THE UK tour of Sister Act rolled into Oxford on Monday for the opening night of a week long residency.

Lively, entertaining and mildly amusing in parts, the stage adaptation of the 90s Hollywood hit stays largely faithful to the original Joseph Howard script.

Donning the habit and stepping into the shoes made famous by Whoopi Goldberg is 2008's X Factor winner Alexandra Burke.

Despite this being only her second major stage role following a lengthy stint as Rachel Marron in The Bodyguard, Burke is outstanding as Philadelphia club singer turned nun-on-the-run Deloris Van Cartier.

Fierce, funny and vocally fabulous, it takes just minutes for her to put any doubts as to the deservedness of her casting out of the mind of even the most sceptical critic.

"First rule of singin' is to get the rafters ringin'!" is what Deloris tells the tone deaf choir of nuns she is tasked with transforming and boy does Alexandra Burke live up to those lyrics.

But of course this is Sister Act, and Deloris is only as strong as the nuns who are to become her unlikely saviours.

The convent contingent is led with commanding authority by Karen Mann in the role of Mother Superior. Her sozzled solo scene with just a wine bottle and a night gown for company is quite superb.

The young and impressionable Sister Mary Robert is played by Alice Stokoe who delivers the tricky combination of delicate vulnerability and vocal prowess in style.

Joe Vetch's crowd-pleasing portrayal of soft hearted romantic cop 'Sweaty' Eddie Souther is enjoyable, but the rest of the male cast seem a little lost for purpose throughout and in the scenes where they are left to hold the stage alone the comedy begins to feel strained and verging on slapstick.

As one might expect, the sisters are the stand out stars on this stage.

If you're in the mood for big musical numbers complete with dance routines that feature "celibate nuns shaking their buns" then look no further than Sister Act at Oxford's New Theatre. The run ends of Saturday.