Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! Sheringham is about to be over-run by pirates as the Little Theatre sets sail towards its community production.

Rehearsals are under way for The Pirates of Penzance - a show which sees the theatre seeking to help the local Savoyards group get more people, especially youngsters and men, interested in the classic Victorian comic operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.

Theatre director Debbie Thompson they had succeeded by getting a strong cast of young people on board for the project.

The show is a comic opera in two acts, which focuses on Frederic, who, having completed his 21st year, is released from his apprenticeship to a band of tender-hearted pirates.

He meets Mabel, the daughter of Major-General Stanley, and the two young people fall in love.

Norwich-based professional director Adrian Wright will be at the helm of the production, which will have a cast of about 50.

Mrs Thompson said: 'It is very exciting to have Adrian on board. He is very keen that the show should be a particularly vibrant production, and although the score and the story remain the same, he will be putting his own twist on it.'

Mr Wright said rehearsals for the show were going well, and he was delighted to be directing the operetta.

'We are attempting something really quite new here,' he said. 'The style will be very much based on certain traditions of the great D'Oyly Carte Opera Company but we will also have a completely fresh 'take' on the characters and the style of the piece.'

And he added: 'This is such a lovely theatre, which has a great atmosphere of enjoyment about it. I am especially pleased to be involved because this is a community project that will see theatre bringing people together.'

?The Pirates of Penzance will be staged at Sheringham Little Theatre from Tuesday April 10 to Saturday April 14. For more information or for tickets call 01263 822347.