The Pirates Of Penzance, Bolton Catholic Musical and Choral Society. Runs until Saturday

THE Pirates of Penzance has proved to be a tour de force for the BCMCS.

The group has pulled off a stunning performance -- just eight years after last putting on the Gilbert and Sullivan opera.

This time round it can only be described as polished and professional.

The Broadway version, as this one is, has all the thrills and a lot of fun.

Craig Smith as The Pirate King swashes and buckles his way through the two hour performance -- and what a voice.

The heart-throb of the play is certainly David Glynn-Whitehead as Fredrick.

He has a beautiful tenor voice and throws charm around with a swagger.

Those two leading men lift the performance to heights above the normal amateur production and together with other very strong roles, plus a good chorus, it means that this is an opera well worth seeing.

Blink and you might have forgotten these were amateur actors.

It is laughter and enjoyment from the beginning.

The fun really starts when we see the police come on with their black tights and fetching tunics.

Martin Taylor as the police sergeant is very funny indeed.

One of the stars of the show was without a doubt Sharon Knott as female pirate Ruth. She has a wonderful voice and a marvellous presence in the role. Jane Hyde hit notes so high they defied gravity.

The three other leading ladies Kerrie McAlister, Jan Ashton and Allison Smith also gave solid performances.

With plenty of tricky -- and potentially dangerous -- prancing around with swords, there is plenty of scope for things to go wrong but this production was a joy for the eye -- the choreography is a delight. This is a light opera, light and easy on the plot, and one to fully enjoy as a piece of wonderfully light entertainment. Matthew Taylor