REDDITCH Operatic Society carried on their proud tradition of staging shows with a hugely enjoyable production of Guys and Dolls.

With six shows played to sell-out audiences, the society can feel justifiably proud of their latest offering.

The standard of singing was excellent and the choreography, designed for the first time by Val Archer, well thought out - there was always something interesting going on.

I particularly enjoyed the drunken bag lady played by Paula Eaves to great effect, a sort of running gag throughout the show.

It is difficult to pick out individual performances as the whole cast performed well, but both leading ladies, Julie Keeley as Sarah Brown and Liz Bird as Miss Adelaide were very good.

For the 'Guys' Michael Hawkins gave a strong performance as Sky Masterson, and Tony Lacey as Benny Southstreet and John Baker as Harry the Horse both did well.

However for me the stars of the show were the Redditch Advertiser's own Mark Williams as Nathan Detroit who gave an outstanding all-round confident performance; and Tony Jay as Nicely-Nicely Johnson who got a lot of laughs and also brought the house down with his rendition of Sit Down You're Rocking The Boat.

It was noticeable that a lot of the gentlemen in the show were getting on in years and in their excellent programme the society does ask for new members who will start rehearsing next year for their next show Carousel.

I, for one, can't wait.

LM