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Gruff Rhys has created a career out of pushing the envelope so far it's invariably posted from another planet.

There can be few musicians whose CV is so wide and varied in range, scope, and ambition.

The idiosyncratic Super Furry Animals ' frontman possesses a creative hive of an imagination that has mined a rich cultural seam from music and theatre to art, books and movies.

Whether it be creating installations out of hotel shampoo bottles (Hotel Shampoo), filming psychedelic road movies (Separado), conjuring up multimedia projects around trailblazing Welsh explorers (American Interior) or bonkers link-ups with Brazilian VCR repairmen (The Terror Of Cosmic Loneliness), the only rule is that there are no rules.

This unorthodox artfulness was in evidence in 2013 when, in conjunction with National Theatre Wales , he took to the stage in Praxis Makes Perfect , the theatrical version of his concept album recorded under the banner of Neon Neon – his collaboration with US producer and musician Boom Bip, inspired by the life of millionaire Italian communist Giangiacomo Feltrinelli.

Christmas 2015 sees him back in harness with the National Theatre Wales team who brought Praxis to life - writer Tim Price and director Wils Wilson for an altogether different proposition.

The Insatiable, Inflatable Candylion, inspired by his 2007 album Candylion, is an immersive fairy tale for all the family where the worlds of theatre and music collide in the unconventional setting of the home of Glamorgan County Cricket Club – transformed into a neon wonderland with the audience at the heart of the action.

Innovative design

There we met the denizens of Pixel Valley, a futuristic hinterland populated by fantastical creatures such as Polar Pear (half Polar Bear, half pear), Caruin (half carnation, half penguin), Cheffyl (half horse, half chef), and the aforementioned Candylion (half candyfloss, half lion, of course).

They lived in peace and harmony harvesting the varied delights and enjoying the positive vibes of the pixels that rained from the sky; that was until Candylion swallowed a negative vibe and this innocent creature was transformed into a monster.

What unfolded was allegory on acid – a surreal feast for the senses that took its cues from Japanese animation (see Manga and Studio Ghibli) in concocting a simple but kaleidoscopic narrative that worked on many levels.

The singer’s go-to artistic visionaries Pete Fowler and Mark James created the cartoon characters come to life and the innovative design of this striking production, while Gruff gathered around him something of a supergroup of actor/musicians in Sweet Baboo, Lisa Jen Brown (lead singer of 9Bach), Remy Beasley, Matthew Bulgo , Dyfan Dwyfor, Natasha Lewis, Dyfrig Morris, Kliph Scurlock (former Flaming Lips’ drummer) and (Islet’s) Emma Daman Thomas.

Soundtracking the production were songs from the original Candylion album and new tracks especially created for the show – including the motorik electronica of Turbo Capitalism and the dedicated earworm that is Negative Vibes - a song as wonderfully euphoric as any Gruff has written and one which needs to be committed to the studio forthwith.

Placing the band at the epicentre of the production was unique in itself but that was a mere sideshow for the production's inventive theatrical mix of music, dance, puppetry and comedy.

Positive vibes

While my six-year-old was pinging around like an unhinged pinball throughout, so us adults were encouraged to re-engage with our own childhood innocence.

The pre-show request for those attending to bring positive vibes to hand out to strangers – be it a happy picture, a sock puppet, or a hug was particularly inspired in engendering a sense of kindred community (much to my amusement I was handed a rocket balloon!).

However, for all the surface colour scratch below and there was plenty of depth in allegorical themes of totalitarianism, capitalism, consumerism, fascism and societal ills, but as heavy as that may sound this wasn't morality delivered with a bludgeoning blow, more silly sleight of hand.

For their part the cast knitted perfectly as a unit. Remy Beasley, in particular, was a magnetic presence throughout and a knotted ball of fury as the power-hungry Candylion - a character that was part pink-haired Evita Peron, part Kim Jong Un, while Matthew Bulgo's counterpoint as steadfast refusenik Caruin was the show's metronomic beating heart, a force for good in the face of severe adversity.

On one level The Insatiable, Inflatable Candylion was a quirky shot of pure escapist fun, on another it served as a parable for our troubled times, where - at the basest levels of human emotion - love, empathy and forgiveness can conquer all.

Possessing a warmth and purity of spirit this is as uniquely joyful a show as you are ever likely to experience.

Go see – you'll only suffer negative vibes if you don't.

The Insatiable, Inflatable Candylion is at the Swalec Stadium until Saturday, January 2. To book tickets and find out more visit www.nationaltheatrewales.org/insatiable-inflatable-candylion