Be My Baby; Colne Dramatic Society

Actresses Emily Williamson and Cathryn Osborne rehearsing for Be My Baby, a musical to be staged by Colne Dramatic Society next week. (s)

A pendulum of musical theatre conjuring tears and laughter, Be My Baby will swing audiences back to the sixties next week.

Colne Dramatic Society’s latest offering is a social commentary by Amanda Whittington on the young mothers who fell between the cracks during the age of sexual liberation.

In the Swinging Sixties, a generation of women secretly gave birth out of wedlock in Church of England residential homes, before giving their babies up for adoption.

This poignant tale, directed by Eleanor Jolley, follows 19 year-old Mary, who, pregnant and alone, finds herself housed in St Saviour’s, a church-sponsored dormitory for pregnant women.

It is set over two months in 1964 to the songs coating the culture of the age in a sugary gloss of romance, a time when lessons on sex education were given, not at school but through the music of The Ronettes.

The cast will journey through a classic musical landscape featuring hits like Chapel of Love by the Dixie Cups, Past, Present & Future by The Shangrilas and So Young by The Ronettes, not forgetting the title track.

The director has assembled a strong all-female cast, comprising: Emily Williamson; Cathryn Osborne; Brogan Riley; Fiona McInerney; Susan Mullen; and Charis Deighton.

Be My Baby will be presented at The Little Theatre, River Street, Colne, from Monday to Saturday, starting at 7-30pm nightly.

Tickets are Â£7 for Monday and Tuesday and Â£7.50 for Wednesday to Saturday.

Book via the theatre answerphone on 01282 861424. Alternatively, visit Colne Library tomorrow from 11am to 1pm.