SOME of the most famous ripping yarns in literature are being brought to life by the Ledbury Amateur Dramatics Society (LADS).

The group is staging five of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. Interpretations of the Reeve's Tale, the Cook's Tale, the Merchant's Tale, the Miller's Tale and the Wife of Bath's Tale will be performed at the town's Market Theatre.

For academics, the tales deal with issues of love and religion in 14th Century England. But show producer Shirley Lewis said LADS is not exploring any inner meanings but putting on a fun play.

"It's a romp," said Shirley, "Certainly not intellectual or anything deep and meaningful, just really good fun.

"We put on at least three shows a year and like to do a wide range of styles. This is like an adult pantomime."

The stories are to being brought up to date. They will be performed in modern English, rather than the middle English for which Chaucer is famed, and they will be presented as if they were being retold from a modern pub.

In keeping with the charm of Chaucer, the tale tellers will be competing with each other to see which is the fav-ourite. The audience, listening to the tales as if they are drinkers in the bar, must vote on which story they like best.

Shirley explained: "We're doing the tales by the reeve, the miller and the Wife of Bath because they are really well known. We're doing the other two because I like them.

"Everyone's enjoying rehearsals and I hope people will enjoy the shows too."

But she warns that not everyone will appreciate the inferences dropped during the action.

"It's quite a rude production. Nothing disgusting, just bawdy humour."

The shows begin at 8pm, running from Wednesday, May 14, to Saturday, May 17. Tickets, costing £6 for adults and £4 for students, are available from Ledbury Books and Maps, Top Cross, Ledbury.