Stanmore Synagogue’s Purimspiel is still raising smiles weeks after the festival.

A spoof on a Shabbat service sung in the style of the musical Les Miserables, it has drawn applause far beyond Stanmore via Youtube.

Creator of Les Miserabbis is TV director David Coleman, who said: “I was listening to Les Mis when the idea came to me. I took the line from the chorus “Look down, Look down” and changed it to “Stand up, sit down,” which is all we seem to do in shul.”

He appears himself in the 26-minute video as the gabbai, while his cast includes United Synagogue Living and Learning director Rabbi Andrew Shaw.

David’s next professional assignment is a more serious affair, a programme on the effects of cannabis for Channel 4.