STAVELEY Amateur Operatic Society transports audiences to sunny Venetian climes this week as the popular Lakeland Savoyards stage The Gondoliers.

Romance is afoot as gondolier brothers Marco and Giuseppe (played by Colin Delsey and John Reid) choose their brides.

However, following their wedding to Gianetta and Tessa (Rachael Lewis and Hannah Godden) the boys are surprised to learn that they are not in reality brothers and one of them is actually the heir to the throne of Barataria.

Running at Staveley Village Hall on Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (September 18, 19 and 21, 7.30pm, no show Thursday), other principal players centre stage in the Gilbert and Sullivan comic operetta include Peter Bowden and Sue Harrison as The Duke and Duchess of Plaza-Toro, Angela-Lee Kennedy as Luiz and young prizewinning mezzo-soprano Rebecca Chandler takes the role of Casilda.

Producer Hannah Godden puts her lively interpretation on Gilbert’s witty libretto and musical director David Tattersall conducts Sullivan’s delightfully varied compositions.

Tickets are available from Staveley Pharmacy or telephone 01539-722820.