THERE’S always that heart-stopping moment when the curtain goes up on a performance.

Will you be wowed? Or spend the next few hours wishing you were elsewhere?

The Producers was a particular shot in the dark for me - I didn’t know the show at all. So it was with trepidation that I settled into my seat at Pershore’s Number 8 to see what the Pershore Operatic and Dramatic Society had to offer.

Answer? A lot. From the opening scene, there was only one word to describe director Paul Turvey’s show. Quality. And it continued in the same vein - brilliant - until the curtain came down.

Paul Tapley put in a wonderful performance as washed-up Broadway producer Max Bialystock, so down on his luck he’s wearing a cardboard belt. He’s a bit of a chancer but it’s to Tapley’s credit that you can't help but root for him, particularly when he hooks up with nervous Leo Bloom, hilariously but believably, brought to life by Steve Miller. The pair hatch a plan to get rich by finding the worst Broadway play - watching it flop and pocketing its backers’ cash.

Their star Ulla, played by Loren Howland, completed the trio of great lead characters, wooing the love/lust-struck pair with her brilliant rendition of ‘if you’ve got it flaunt it.’

Also worth a mention was Matt Tebbatt as hapless director Roger De Bris - who later steals the show as an effeminate Hitler. (Yes, really!) Matt Owens who brought the belly laughs with his energetic portrayal of Franz. And my favourite little old lady, Sally Pitchforth, as Hold Me, Touch Me.

The chorus put on a full-blown spectacle of glitz and glamour - with a twist. Look out for their utterly wonderful zimmer frame scene. And special praise must go to Tapley’s jail performance in which he rips through a miniature version of the entire show - barely pausing for breath.

I could go on. But I don’t want to spoil it. If you haven’t been - go. You will be wowed.

Performances start at 7.30pm and run until Saturday, June 15. Tickets from Number 8 Box Office, number8.org or call 01386 55548

ALICIA KELLY