Get out your gladrags

The Amateurs are presenting An Evening of Song and Dance while dressed in tuxedos and ballgowns.

People in the audience at the June 21 show in Victoria Hall are also being urged to put on their best frocks or suits on.

The 7pm concert will feature solos and duets from musicals such as High Society, Chicago, Oklahoma and Les Miserables.

Singers will include Amateurs chairman Louise Hindle-Barton, Sally Hamer, and John Short who played the Ghost of Christmas Present in last year's Scrooge.

There will also be items performed by the recently-formed Keighley Amateurs junior singing group.

The Keighley-based Holme Singers will perform a selection of songs, and students from the Irene Ogden School of Dance will open the show.

The musicians will be onstage with the singers, and the stage will be dressed with flowers and blue velvet curtains.

Organisers say the concert is aimed at all ages and will include songs from several decades of West End shows.

Tickets are on sale at Keighley Information Centre in the town hall, which is open on weekdays.

nMagical drama will be presented next week by actors including Meg Dobson and Johnnie Ingram.

The two members of the Arcadians Theatre group are pictured in a scene from the classic play The Crucible (pictured).

Riddlesden man Johnnie is playing the leading role of John Proctor in Arthur Miller's exploration of the Salem witch trials in 1692.

He is also directing the play with a cast of 20 amateur actors, mostly from around the Keighley and Craven area.

Johnnie said: "The Crucible is internationally accepted as one of the great plays of the 20th century.

"We intend to present a production that will thrill audiences on a very personal and frightening level, exploring the timeless themes of fear, prejudice and paranoia in society."

Johnnie says the dark and dramatic play is set in a community dedicated to the service of God.

"A gang of teenage girls, stifled by the crushing piety of their elders, dance naked in the woods.

"The girls are discovered and, spurred on by terrified accusations, the entire village is consumed by cries of witchcraft.

"One by one, the blameless victims of mass hysteria are torn from their houses and put on trial."

Johnnie says that staging such a large-scale production has been a financial struggle for The Arcadia Players.

They have been sponsored by Skipton Building Society, Craven College, and Bradford Youth Development Partnership.

The cast includes Keighley people Joe Gibson, Peter Cardwell, Long Lee brothers John Duncan-Hill and Nigel Sloan, and Silsden student Becki Anderton.

Frank Ryan, a professional actor living in Bradford, takes the star role of Giles Corey.

The Crucible is presented from Thursday to Saturday (7.30pm) at Skipton Little Theatre. Tickets cost £5 by phoning 01274 590559.

The Arcadia, which was formed by former members of Utley-based Spot On Productions, will then take The Crucible to the Wakefield Drama Festival.

nChildren's favourite Billy Pearce is back at the Alhambra -- but his latest show is certainly not for the kids.

The star of Bradford's annual pantomime presents his popular adult stand-up routine on Friday June 6.

Yorkshire-born Billy was a Redcoat at Butlins before honing his talents on the northern club circuit.

An appearance in the final of TV talent show New Faces led to stage, television and Royal Variety Performance appearances.

Billy's roles in five Alhambra pantos have been box-office record breakers and he has continued with his "mischievous but inoffensive" grown-up shows.

Book tickets at Keighley Information Centre or phone 01274 432000.

nThere are just two nights left to see Midnight's Children in the care of the Royal Shakespeare Company.

The actors are presenting the adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel until tomorrow at the West Yorkshire Playhouse in Leeds.

Midnight's Children is an allegory of modern India focusing on children born as the country gained its independence from Britain.

The epic story is told through the eyes of the central character and combines drama, music and film footage.

Book tickets for performances tonight (7.30pm) and tomorrow (2 pm) by phoning 0113 2137700 or at Keighley Information Centre.

nRoyalty returns to Yorkshire as Northern Broadsides continues its tour of a Shakespeare classic.

Henry V is being performed at West Yorkshire Playhouse along with 17th century drama A Woman Killed with Kindness.

Henry is presented 11 times between Tuesday and May 31 in the trademark Broadsides style of no-frills staging and regional dialects.

Kindness, a poignant domestic tragedy combining drama, live music and folk dancing, is performed on May 21, 24, 28 and 30.

Book tickets at Keighley Information Centre in the town hall, or phone 0113 2137700.

nKeighley Playhouse members are going on holiday from June 9-14 for their last play of the season.

Perfect Pitch is John Godber's comedy set during a camping holiday from hell. Tickets go on sale soon.

nRadio star Buzz Hawkins brings to life funny family The Bradshaws tomorrow (7.30pm) at Burnley Mechanics.

The cult series' writer, producer and voice will take people back to the days of pounds, shillings and pence, tin baths and condensed milk butties.

The venue hosts The Blues Brothers (tonight 8pm) and satirical comedian Mark Thomas (May 29). Book at Keighley Information Centre or phone 01282 664400.

nMade in Britain is the title of a family concert performed by Hull Philharmonic in Leeds Town Hall this Sunday.

The 3pm show takes in sea-shanties, Cornish dances, North Country tunes and an Orkney wedding. Book on 0113 2243801.

nHe used to be a security guard and 25 years ago topped the charts with punk classic Jilted John.

But for the past few years Graham Fellows has been stand-up comic and singer of silly songs John Shuttleworth.

He performs his latest show Pillock of the Community at Hebden Bridge Picture House tonight at 8pm.

Phone 01422 351158 to check ticket availability.

nA friendship between two 10-year-old girls during the 1970s is portrayed in a new drama at West Yorkshire Playhouse. The affectionate play Broken Angel, from the Leeds theatre's schools company, is set during a hot and lazy summer. One girl's father abuses alcohol and his addiction colours the girls' childhood innocence and optimism, going on to affect their adult lives.

The play is performed from Tuesday to Saturday, including daytime and evening performances. Book on 01332 137700.