Little Voice is something to shout about

Riddlesden woman Nicola Brook plays the title role in the heartfelt drama The Rise and Fall of Little Voice.

John Tempest has created a split-level set containing a house, bedroom, nightclub and street.

Nicola will not only play a challenging character but will impersonate the voices of several famous singers.

Meanwhile John is responsible for state-of-the-art fire effects and a hydraulic lift used during an on-stage rescue.

The play -- filmed in 1998 with Jane Horrocks and Michael Caine -- is set in English seaside town.

The painfully shy Little Voice -- LV for short -- lives with her loudmouthed and good-time-girl mother.

The teenager mourns her dead father, sitting alone with his photograph, listening to his record collection and perfectly mimicking their voices.

The mother's new boyfriend, showbiz impresario Ray Say, sees a fortune in the offing -- so long as he can entice her out of the bedroom.

Nicola is joined by a cast including Bruce Sturrock, Phil Holbrough, Stephen Brown and Pauline Warin.

Sandra Williams, the director, says she wanted to do justice to Jim Cartwright's original play rather than the film.

She says: "It has been an absolute joy for me to work with such a committed cast of professionals.

"We have come up with what I believe to be a good interpretation of Cartwright's well-crafted play.

"It reflects a harrowing view of the world from an unexpected angle -- raw backstreet life, with sex, booze and gutter language on the surface and gut-wrenching emotion lurking under it.

"At times the play is hilarious and at others it is hauntingly sad."

The Rise and Fall of Little Voice is performed from Monday to Saturday (7.30pm) at Bingley Arts Centre.

Book tickets at Keighley Information Centre in the town hall, or telephone 01274 432000.

nChristopher Town's last stage role was as the son of a refined English governess in the musical The King and I. This month the young Glusburn actor's stage fortunes are less happy as he takes the title role in Oliver!.

Sutton County Primary School student Christopher plays the orphan boy from Charles Dickens' novel Oliver Twist.

He will be on stage at Bingley Arts Centre on June 30-July 5 with Idle and Thackley Amateurs.

Christopher is pictured with Mick Snowden and Alison Wood, who play London villain Bill Sykes and his girlfriend Nancy.

The musical features songs such as Food Glorious Food, Where Is Love, Consider Yourself and Pick a Pocket or Two.

Book tickets for evening and Saturday matinee performances by phoning 01274 411080. Idle and Thackley Amateurs unite with Bingley Amateurs, Heaton Amateurs and Bingley G&S to perform a charity concert on July 20.

nFavourite songs and familiar faces can be heard and seen tomorrow from 7.30pm at Keighley's Victoria Hall.

Keighley Amateurs members are performing solos and duets from West End shows during An Evening of Song and Dance.

Also performing are the Holme Singers, Keighley Amateurs' junior singing group, and the Irene Ogden School of Dance.

Buy tickets from Keighley Information Centre in the town hall today.

nLocal people can take part in a stage production based on the diaries of Holocaust victim Anne Frank this September.

The newly-formed On-Line Drama Society is looking for new members for rehearsals already underway.

It needs actors, stage hands and help with scenery, fundraising, costumes, sound and lighting. Also wanted is a director for the play.

Meetings are every Wednesday at Bolton Woods Social Club. Telephone 01274 586753.

nPeel Park is the venue for this year's mela as part of Bradford International Festival, tomorrow and Sunday (noon - 8pm).

The free event features music and dance from around the world, local artists and bands, exotic market, funfair, community stalls, sports, women's marquee, and children's entertainment.

Tomorrow features Apache Indian, Fame Academy singer Lemar, Gubi Sandhu, stand-up comic Jeff Mirza, Kala Sangam, recycler and RDB.

Sunday features Malkit Singh, Laiba Ali, Safri Boyz, FDM Vs MZN, Omar Puente, Baka Beyond and Sister India.

The festival's street art and music line-up in Centenary Square, Bradford, continues today (12.15-2.15pm & 4.30-7.30pm) and tomorrow (11.15am-7pm).

nGilbert and Sullivan will be performed on June 27 by 200 singers and the National Festival Orchestra.

The night of G&S favourites at St George's Hall, Bradford, is headlined by the Savoyards Appreciations Society.

Also at the venue is songs-from-the-shows concert The Best of Broadway (July 13) by members of the cast of Cats.

Now You Have Jazz Jazz Jazz features Kenny Ball, Bruce Boardman and Laurie Chescoe with their bands (June 27).

The trio perform jazz favourites from Dixieland to ragtime, boogie woogie and swing.

Book tickets at Keighley Information Centre in the town hall, or phone 01274 432000.

nBite the Mango, the annual international film festival, returns to Bradford from today until next Thursday.

Films include Triads, Yardis and Onion Bajees, Bollywood Queen, Unknown Pleasures, Jhankar Beats, Bruce Almighty, Jamela and Mumbai Matinee.

There are short films, Bollywood movies, IMAX, discussions, and screenings of classic TV.

Retrospectives are devoted to Anil Kapoor, Laurence Fishburne, Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram and AR Rahman.

The venue is the National Museum of Photography, Film and Television. Details and bookings on 01274 701 0200.

nTwo London girls are in Jamaica mixing a holiday with a mission in the new play Off Camera at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.

Romance and shattered illusions are portrayed through a mixture of British urban dialogue and Jamaica patois.

Book tickets at Keighley Information Centre or telephone 0113 213 7700.

nNorthern Exposure is a festival of new writing at the West Yorkshire Playhouse from Monday to July 5.

There will be a new BBC sitcom Eyes down, script-in-hand performances, work in progress and short film screenings. Phone 0113 213 7700.

nThree Bradford theatre schools -- who have pupils living in Keighley -- took part in a "greatest hits" show at Blackpool Opera House.

Taking part were the Spotlight Stage School, Footsteps Theatre School and Barbara Mann Dance Academy.

Spotlight performed an eight-minute "megamix" from the musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

The 59 youngsters will repeat their routine on August 13 in Preston alongside singers from the West End.

nDick & Liddy's Comedy Club returns to the Victoria Theatre, Halifax, next Friday (8.30pm) with stand-ups Noel James, Richard Morton and Mickey D. Book on 01422 351158.

nCantorelli will perform early sacred music, madrigals, romantic part songs and music by living composers at Heptonstall Parish Church on Thursday (8pm). Phone 01422 842684 for ticket prices and details.