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Higham Ferrers is preparing to host an evening of biting wit and enchanting music as the town welcomes a celebrated Gilbert and Sullivan concert group

Decked out in period costumes (the women will be wearing ballgowns and the men will be sporting white ties and tails) and with an array of props, the five singers, their pianist and lighting manager- members of the acclaimed Wandering Minstrels Touring Group - will present a programme from Gilbert & Sullivan’s comic operas.

The women will change their dresses for the second half of the programme and the men will change their buttonholes.

It is the first time that the Wandering Minstrels have visited the town and local people can't wait for what is being billed as an ''Extravaganza'' .

The Wandering Minstrels are back row left to right Tim Hurst Brown (artistic direction) Stephen Good

''It's going to be a very exciting event. The piano is tuned and we are really looking forward to the group's varied programme'' said a delighted Carol Fitzgerald, secretary of the Friend's of St Mary's, which is hosting the Wandering Minstrels.

The concert group generally perform Gilbert & Sullivan songs and scenes in Parish churches as well as in theatres and stately homes which has helped to raise more than £300,000 for various charities in the last 30 years.

The Higham Ferrers engagement will be performed in the town's Medieval Bede House, next to the Parish Church of St Mary's.

The Friends of St Mary's, which is dedicated to the preservation of the grade 1 listed buildings in the historic town, is currently fund raising for a new roof for the Bede House, and the proceeds from the Gilbert & Sullivan Extravaganza on September 30th will boost the coffers.

The Victorian operatic duo Gilbert & Sullivan who will enchant a Higham Ferrers audience on Sept 30

With words by W.S. Gilbert and music by Sir Arthur Sullivan, the Higham Ferrers programme will feature songs from the Mikado, HMS Pinafore, The Pirates of Penzance, The Yeoman of the Guard, Iolanthe, The Sorcerer & The Gondoliers.

The programme ranges from tongue in cheek humour (HMS Pinafore) to poking fun at the British establishment (The Mikado) and will feature the popular A Policeman's lot and The Major- General's song (both from the Pirates of Penzance).

The Extravaganza which is sponsored by Wilson Browne solicitors, starts at 7.30pm on Saturday 30th September.

Tickets are £15 including light refreshments and are available from Sidey Design, 10 Market Square, Higham Ferrers, or via [email protected]

Laughs aplenty as Gilbert & Sullivan extravaganza heads to town