IT'S A torrid tale of greed, deceit, betrayal and passion . . . but with plenty of laughs thrown in.?Oh, yes it is, it's panto time again in Stoke Climsland.

SCATS (Stoke Climsland Amateur Theatrical Society) will later this month be presenting 'Arty Choke and The Evil Earl', taking their audiences into the realms of commerce.

All is peaceful and tranquil in Stoke Climsland where the organic vegetables sit patiently on their shelves in the local shop waiting for someone to buy them.

Kasper Carrot, Priscilla Pea, Fenella Fennel, Simon the Spud and Tomasina Tomato are happy with their idyllic existence, but Ovoid the Egg who mistakenly thinks she's a vegetable.

This serenity is broken by the arrival from Essex of the Earl of Wormwood with his two dodgy minders, Slime and Verdigris, his agent, Lord Meddlesome, and his daughter, Posh Totty (Rosie Fuller).

He has plans to plough up the sports field, knock down buildings, and replace them with a giant supermarket. He will then undercut the local shop by selling bulk purchase GM produce, and force the shop's closure.

Can Ophelia Melons save the day??Will Arty Choke, Jack and Old Man Ure'Heap stop the rot??Is the sales girl Rye Peaches all that she seems, and will the two gossips Lady Mucquet and Granny Smith become stitched up?

Performances are at Stoke Climsland Parish Hall on February 25 and 26 and March 4 and 5 at 7.30pm, with children's' matinees at 2.30pm on each Saturday.

Tickets are £5 for adults and £2 for children, and available from Stoke Climsland Post Office.

Pictured are, from left, Maddie Kelly as Kasper Carrott, Lucy McGann as Arty Choke, Charlotte Watts as Femella Fennell, Hannah Carnegie as Rye Peaches and Olivia Cruchton as Priscilla Pea.

Picture by Paul Hamlyn