Ruddigore

Lytham Hall will welcome a return visit from Illyria on Sunday as they present artistic director Oliver Gray’s version of Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera Ruddigore in the open air at 6.00. The weather forecast is for a dry and sunny evening.

Gates will open at 4.00pm for picnics, with Lytham Hall tea room remaining open until 6.00pm. At 5.00pm the 150 strong Lytham Community Choir, under the baton of musical director Graham Warrington, will perform a varied selection of songs, including some of Gilbert and Sullivan’s most acclaimed choral numbers which the choir have been rehearsing specially for the occasion.

The performance of Ruddigore, the third of four in Lytham Hall’s summer theatre programme, is believed to be the first ever outdoor production of the Gilbert and Sullivan spoof ghost story and comes to the Lancashire coast right at the start of a demanding schedule of 31 performances in 36 days.

Ruddigore will begin at 6.00pm and end at 8.30pm. Tickets will be available at the gate and the audience is reminded to bring the own seating (though chairs are available to hire at £2) and to bring clothing appropriate to the weather. Tickets can also be booked on line via the Lowther Pavilion or on Illyria’s website www.illyria.uk.com