A MUSICAL production will be opening in Workington in the next fortnight.

Workington Amateur Operatics Society will be performing My Fair Lady at the Carnegie Theatre and Arts Centre.

The show will take place between Wednesday, October 13 and Saturday, October 16.

Mark Stilwell of Workington Amateur Operatics Society, said: “This is the first amateur productions to go on at the Carnegie Theatre since lockdown.

“We’re delighted to be back.”

My Fair Lady was first performed as a stage musical in 1956, as an adaptation of George Bernard Shaw’s 1913 play, Pygmalion.

An American film was released in 1964, starring Audrey Hepburn and Rex Harrison.

The story is about a poor cockney flower-seller named Eliza Doolittle.

She overhears an arrogant phonetics professor, Henry Higgins, as he casually wagers that he could teach her to speak proper English, thereby making her presentable in the high society of Edwardian London.

It won eight academy awards and was ranked in eighth in the American Film Institute’s Greatest Movie Musicals List.

Mr Stilwell acknowledged that older audiences will be especially interested but said: "It's great for all ages.

"It's a classic show so I would encourage younger people to come as well. It's one that you can tick off and say that you've seen."

Workington Amateur Operatics Society was formed in 1906 and has produced over 100 shows since.

This is the group’s first adult show in two years.

Mr Stilwell said: "We are still cautious and still wary, but we've put in all the precautions that we need to to make sure that it's as safe as possible.

"We are very excited and it's going to be good to get back into the Carnegie.

"It'll be really nice to get back to our normality."

The production has a company of 25 amateur actors who will be accompanied by a live orchestra.

Mr Stilwell said that Covid restrictions had impacted the early stages: "Rehearsals started in April online, over Zoom. As lockdown began to ease, we had to rehearse in groups of six, which was rather tricky.

"That was really why we picked this show, because it allowed us to do that.

"Some scenes only have three or four people, so it was a good show to do in those conditions."

Tickets for My Fair Lady cost £17 and are available at the Carnegie Theatre box office or on their website.