Even in an age of austerity, all those milk-round head-hunters still come a-knocking sometimes, and in a mid-week spate of misery, their glossy flyers in the pigeonhole look more inviting than imminent poverty.  Corporate life can’t be that bad, right? Magdelene Musical Production Society are making it look like an all-singing, all-dancing party.

How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying takes a look at the dog-eat-dog world of business – and has a good laugh about it. “It’s hopefully bringing out the entertaining side of what is quite a grim reality,” director Ros Peters tells me. But does it have something to say? “It’s first and foremost a really entertaining show, but it definitely has the satire thing going; the way [the main character] Finch gets away with murder, and how much working life is about who you know, and being in the right place at the right time. I think that’s something that everyone can relate to.”

But anyone looking to learn some earnest life lessons may be disappointed: Jackson Caines who plays Finch, a window-cleaner-cum-corporate-tycoon, wouldn’t advise anyone take any moral lessons from the show. “Finch moves with one goal in mind, which is to climb the corporate ladder. There might be some vestige of morality within him, but career tends to come first,” he tells me, “and that might not actually be a recipe for success.”

Finch isn’t the only one. How to Succeed abounds with characters who might offend our modern liberal sensibilities. Even Catriona Stirling, who plays the lead female role, Rosemary, has a few reservations about her character. “Rosemary is... ambitious in her own way,” she explains. “Her sole aim is to find a rich young man and be his wife.” But director Ros convinces me that she Rosemary isn’t at all a flat character: “Her main song is called ‘Happy to Keep His Dinner Warm’, but she sings with such aplomb that it takes you by surprise.”

So, leave your liberal scruples at the door, then – but I hope we can expect some thigh-slapping, unapologetic musical fun instead?  That’s definitely part of the vision, Ros says. “We make no bones about hamming it up at some points. It is musical theatre and we want to embrace it and make sure people have a really good time.”  Jackson balks when I repeat the word ‘hammy’, insisting that things will remain tasteful: “It’s just a different school of acting. It requires bigger gestures, bigger everything, but there are also dramatic moments where people should be genuinely moved.”

The cast have a ready-made corporate environment in the form of Cripps’ Court, which is usually a conference space. Minimal staging is a must, in order to make room for a hefty chorus and a live band. In musical productions, Catriona explains, the chorus is a make-or-break factor: everyone has to blend together. Luckily for this production, everyone gets on well. “It really feels like a family,” she says. Musicals need a close-knit cast more than other shows, but Ros tells me there’s only one secret to social bonding: looking ridiculous. “Dancing breaks down all sorts of barriers,” she laughs. “Everyone looks silly together.”