THERE will be an invasion of top hats and coat tails in Malvern next month when foot-tapping comedy Stepping Out comes to the town's Festival Theatre.

The play, which chronicles the ups and downs of a weekly Thursday night adult tap class, is being staged at the Grange Road venue from Monday, May 9, to Saturday, May 14.

From the former professional dancer who teaches the class to the middle-aged woman who uses it as therapy and the lonely man who needs the company, the nine tappers come from all walks of life and represent a cross-section of society.

Patsy Palmer, of EastEnders fame, takes the lead role in the production, which premiered in the West End in 1984 at the Duke of York's Theatre in London and won the prestigious Evening Standard Award for Best Comedy the same year.

It was made into a hugely-successful film in 1991 and returned to the stage as a musical in 1998.

Tickets for the show cost £16-£24 (students £8) and are available from the box office on 01684 892277 or online at www.malverntheatres.co.uk