GLITTER & Twisted Theatre Company shines a new light on Gilbert & Sullivan’s musical The Pirates of Penzance, with a quirky production at the Swindon Arts Centre from February 26-29.

This new production updates the musical to 1953, while remaining respectful to Gilbert’s witty dialogue and Sullivan’s sparkling score.

The theatre company was founded in 2011 with the aim of making Victorian musicals more accessible to the younger generation.

A giggly bunch of girls stray from their picnic party to a Cornish beach, where they meet a handsome young pirate. Soon they are in the hands of his infamous colleagues.

Will their Major General father and the inept local bobbies save the day?

Studded with well-known tunes and full of humour, the show aims to pull at the heart strings a little, while sending audiences out of the theatre with smiles on their faces.

The action of the show takes place on Leap Year Day and when director Simon Moss realised that 2016 would be a leap year he couldn’t resist the temptation to stage the show this February.

“It’s unusual to close a show on a Monday”, he said, “but we are making our Feb 29 closing performance a Gala Show, with prizes for the best dressed audience members.

"The show’s prologue is set in 2016, but most of the action is in 1953, and we’d love the audience to reflect that, perhaps wearing 1950s frocks or coming as pirates or policemen.”

  •  The Pirates of Penzance is at Swindon Arts Centre from Friday, February 26-Monday, February 29. Tickets £12 (£8 under 18). Go to glittertwisted.com or swindontheatres.co.uk for tickets.