After their last production of Evita in 2019, PGS Theatre Productions are back treading the boards next month with the musical adaptation of the Disney film The Hunchback of Notre Dame featuring five cast members from Tavistock.

Olwen Keates, Peter Clement, Anna Dunford, Ross Ayling and Jackie Bowen will all star in the new show which PGS is delighted to have been offered the opportunity to present at the Devonport Playhouse in Plymouth.

The production has been described as Les Mis meets Disney and will be running from Tuesday, April 26 to Saturday, April 30.

The musical begins as the bells of Notre Dame sound through the famed cathedral in fifteenth-century Paris.

Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer who longs to be ‘Out There’, observes all of Paris reveling in the Feast of Fools. Held captive by his devious caretaker, the archdeacon Dom Claude Frollo, he escapes for the day and joins the boisterous crowd, only to be treated cruelly by all but the beautiful gypsy, Esmeralda.

Quasimodo isn’t the only one captivated by her free spirit, though – the handsome Captain Phoebus and Frollo are equally enthralled. As the three vie for her attention, Frollo embarks on a mission to destroy the gypsies – and it’s up to Quasimodo to save them all.

From the Oscar-winning team of writers comes a lushly scored retelling of Victor Hugo’s epic story of love, acceptance, and what it means to be a hero.

Chairman of PGS Theatre Productions Ross Ayling from Tavistock said it was a fabulous score.

‘It is certainly one of the biggest challenges we have ever done,’ he said. ‘It is a bit like an opera, not in style but in technique and there is a lot of Latin to learn.

‘Not many people have seen this musical but I would say if you are a fan of musicals or Disney you will fall in love with this show.’

Ross said it was fantastic to be back rehearsing. The 2020 show Pirates of Penzance had to be cancelled a week before it was due to run because of covid, causing a huge financial loss to the theatre company.

Ross, whose day job is working at the Theatre Royal, said: ‘We want to reassure people that it is safe to come out again and they can enjoy a wonderful night at the theatre. It is a chance to escape all the unpleasant things that are going on in the world.

‘The shows at the Theatre Royal are more popular than they have ever been and we hope people will come out and support PGS for our wonderful new production which features a cast of 40.’

PGS won the NODA (National Operatic and Dramatic Association) ’Best Singing Company’ award for its production of Evita in 2019.

The company was founded in 1923 and was known as the Plymouth Gilbert and Sullivan Fellowship before changing its name to PGS Productions in 2018 to branch out into more mainstream productions, starting with Monty Python’s Spamalot.

There will be a special BSL (British Sign Language) performance on the Thursday, April 28.

See advert on this page for ticket details.