THE talented performers of BATS - Burneside Amateur Theatrical Society - are inviting musical lovers to spend an evening with them.

The troupe is taking to the stage of the village's Bryce Institute with its Showstoppers 2019 spectacle to mark the 50th anniversary of the first recording of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice's much-loved musical made a starry return to the West End this year, with Sheridan Smith as Narrator and Jason Donovan as Pharoah.

Joseph was first released as a concept album in 1969 and went on to wow audiences on Broadway and around the world.

BATS will be performing iconic numbers from Joseph as well as the West End shows Jesus Christ Superstar, The Phantom of the Opera, Chess, Whistle Down the Wind, Aladdin and more.

Cast members new and old have risen to the challenge of some of musical theatre's best-known songs, including Elisha Selby, Hayley and Drew Newman, Ron Milnes, Angela-Lee Kennedy, Sue Cook, Steph Wilson, Kevin Beecroft, Gordon Lawson, Samm Parker, Anna Wright, Helen Fothergill and Rita Brown. You can follow their rehearsal progress on the BATS Facebook page.

The junior cast includes Amelia and Eleanor King, Annie Hartley, Kara Vandermerwe and Abigail Winn, and the show is directed by Sue Cook.

l Showstoppers is at the Bryce from August 28 to 31; tickets 07792-777213 or see www.batsburneside.co.uk