‘The Harder They Come’ has returned to Stratford East no longer than six months after its previous run. No wonder – it received widespread critical acclaim, and judging by the rapturous reaction to this so quickly revived production, they would do well to give it an open-ended run.

Although it is often recognised by its connection with the reggae luminary Jimmy Cliff, the musical is not a biopic. Its origin is the 1972 film of the same name, which had Cliff star in fact as the lead character Ivanhoe Martin, an aspiring singer grafting through the corruption and hardship of 1970’s Kingston.

Cliff also had a major hand in the soundtrack, and the result was a landmark film not only for being Jamaica’s first feature film, but for projecting to the world such immortal tunes as ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ and, of course, ‘The Harder They Come’.

The spirit of Cliff’s music is the core of the story’s appeal, and this production bolsters the song list not just with other reggae classics used in the original film - ‘Funky Kingston’ sets the show’s exuberant mood, and ‘Pressure Drop’ appears as a plot-driving motif - but with superb originals of its own, written by Suzan-Lori Parks.

Though the plot stays fairly close to that of the film, Parks’ tunes help give the musical its narrative heft, most notably the ‘The Time is Now’, which cements the journey of Ivan from luckless singer to revolutionary outlaw.

Some of the tropes of this music drama feel pretty typical - the bullish, cigar-toting record producer Mr Hilton (Thomas Vernal), the dreamy declarations of the talented protagonist: ‘I want to soar like an eagle’.

But ‘The Harder They Come’ ultimately strays away from cliché, and is certainly not a rags-to-riches tale. It is a tale of a man trying to succeed, let alone survive, as an artist in impossible social and economic conditions.

His efforts to record, and profit from, his music are thwarted by Hilton’s iron grip on Kingston’s music industry, and Hilton somehow seems to be the only one in the city capable of handing out a recording contract: and that means ‘No contract, no play. No play, no chance’, as Ivan is bluntly told.

The tragic dimension of Ivan’s character is given focus by director Matthew Xia in the second act. Ivan refuses to kneel in prayer with his infinitely-faithful mother, claiming ‘I don’t pray how you pray’, a guilt-drenched lined after his fatal run-ins with the drug trade and the corrupt police.

Yet tragedy never overrides the joy and vibrancy of the musical, and of Ivan, who has a lion’s spirit throughout. He is played by Natey Jones, who does an unbelievable job not only of performing Cliff’s songs to uncanny perfection, but in imbuing the hero with a careful balance of arrogance and vulnerability.

At a pivotal moment when Ivan poses flamboyantly for a photographer as a Django-inspired outlaw, the audience is in uproar.

The technical aspects of the action are also handled well, and add to its addictive energy. The gun fights - always at danger of ridicule in theatre, and so often mishandled - are performed here with aplomb.

But the key to the continued success of ‘The Harder they Come’ is certainly its conjuring of Jamaican culture – now not only now an indelible part of British culture, but of world culture, too. The reggae is performed and enlivened with such immense passion, the dialogue is entirely in patois, and the stage is filled with the colour and vibrancy of its urban life.

It is completely convincing, and impossible to resist. If you aren’t dancing in the opening number, you certainly will be at the end.