Until June 21

I WASN'T too sure how well this well-loved film would translate to the stage, but with the dark and witty script, the spectacle of the gleaming rows of trombones and cornets and the sleek set design, it made the move very impressively.

This adaptation has everything.

Beautiful brass for the ear; red, gold and coal dirt for the eye and sadness and poignancy for the soul.

Brassed Off is the story of Grimley, a south Yorkshire mining town in 1994, facing closure of its pit.

Against a backdrop of poverty and hardship for all, the men find release through music.

Into their closed ranks comes Gloria, a long-legged flugelhorn-playing blonde, who wins them over.

As the colliery band pulls itself together and pushes ahead for dignity, we are treated to the sight and sound of them touring villages throughout the north to inch nearer the coveted national title.

Heartache, suffering and hilarity travel with them, woven together by the narrating skills of Shane, grandson of bandleader Danny.

Robert Czlapka is terrific as this young boy, while Bernard Kay gives us a stern but soft-as-silk Danny.

The whole cast is perfect. Lois Naylor as Gloria, horn player extraordinaire is sweet but steely and, as a trumpet player with 18 years experience, must have been delighted when she saw this role advertised - it was made for her.

Her male counterparts put up a good pretence of playing, while the real musicians are happy to steal the show.

Although other bands take over during the run, I saw the Stourport-on-Severn Brass Band who were utterly brilliant, and wouldn't be blamed for wanting to flee their day jobs and tread the boards permanently.

Sarah Cowen