A COLOURFUL and dance-filled production of a true Broadway classic is set to dazzle audiences at Clacton’s West Cliff Theatre.

The award-winning West Cliff Youth Theatre is gearing up for its next production, following smash hit performances of musical classics Footloose and Oliver!

The team is an inclusive group of youngsters and adults, open to all children of secondary school age and above.

Producer Chris Bareham is proud of how far the youth theatre has come since its inception in 2000.

“No-one is excluded from the group and everyone will have role in the production - even if it is just part of the chorus,” she said.

The theatre group is set to stage a production of Guys and Dolls, which first hit Broadway and London’s West End in the 1950s.

The romantic comedy involves the unlikeliest of pairings - a high-rolling gambler and a puritanical missionary girl with the Salvation Army.

Famous numbers include Sit Down, You’re Rocking the Boat; Luck be a Lady and Guys and Dolls.

The group staged a production of the same show 12 years ago, and remarkably two cast members have featured in both renditions.

Chris said: “Gabrielle Tyler is one of the Hot Box Girls and our dance captain, while Courtney Cooper-Gleave plays General Cartwright.

“They are in their 20s now, but 12 years ago, at the age of eight or nine, both girls were in the chorus for the same show.

“It would have been a more low-key production then.

“It has grown phenomenally, because we are about inclusion and the social side of things.

“One boy is autistic and I can honestly say this group has been the making of him. He has developed confidence and it is great to see how he is now.”

Chris praised musical director Nick Graham and choreographer Natalie Stock for their work on the production.

Guys and Dolls runs at 7.30pm at the West Cliff Theatre from Thursday, February 21, until Saturday, February 23. An additional 2.30pm matinee performance will be staged on the Saturday.

Tickets cost £9 from 01255 433344.