She emerges from a wheelie bin emitting a series of her trademark high-pitched screams. Dumped again! Once more, an attempt to find Tracy Beaker a home with foster parents has failed because of this sassy 11-year-old's original, but often difficult, take on life.

"I've got aggressive compensatory behavioural problems," she declares almost proudly, showing a thorough grip on the social workers' jargon that has surrounded her almost since birth. Yet Tracy is oddly endearing - so endearing, in fact, that she is almost every young girl's favourite fictional character, though not, I hope, her role model! Her creation 15 years ago helped writer Jacqueline Wilson to wrest the title of most-borrowed library author from its long-time holder Catherine Cookson. Since 2002, Tracy has starred in five series of her own TV show, The Story of Tracy Beaker, and well as a feature-length spin-off, The Movie of Me. Now, courtesy of the Nottingham Playhouse Theatre Company, she is making her stage debut in Tracy Beaker Gets Real.

Following hard on the heels of The Gruffalo's visit to the Oxford Playhouse, this delightful musical show (director David Newman) gave this reviewer a second insight into what youngsters these days enjoy on stage. It turns out to be very much the same as grown-ups - sound characterisation, amusing incidents and lots of excellent songs (composer Grant Olding).

Scriptwriter Mary Morris, who was responsible for a number of the TV shows, has created what is essentially a play of two halves. The first is focused mainly on the group home - known to all as The Dumping Ground - where Tracy, brilliantly portrayed by Sarah Churm, lives when she's not on one of those doomed forays into life with foster parents arranged by social worker Elaine the Pain (Gemma Page).

Here we meet Justine (Suzie McGrath), a feisty newcomer who has taken the opportunity of Tracy's brief taste of life outside to secure the friendship of her pal Louise (Jessica Martin). The rivals settle their disagreement with a worm-eating contest, which proves almost as stomach-churning for the audience (and for the wimpish Peter - Ryan O'Donnell) as it is for the puking Tracy.

The second half takes on a deeper emotional tone as Tracy is taken under the wing of the considerate Cam (Alice Redmond), who comes to the home to teach creative writing and quickly recognises her pupil's special qualities. But the relationship is threatened by the arrival of Tracy's long-lost mum (Jessica Martin, again) whose sluttish demeanour suggests this will not turn out to be a long-term reunion. But it's all smiles by the end - not least because of a happy event in the life of good-sort social worker Sheriff (Kirris Riviere), whose laid-back style is in sharp contrast to that of the bossy bureaucrat Elaine.

This is a thoroughly entertaining show which it would not surprise me to see going on to greater things. With her cheeky appeal and mop of curly hair Tracy could prove a stage rival to Orphan Annie.