As far as foot-tapping, comic opera goes, they don't come much better than The Mikado. It bursts with vitality, song and dance just like the producer of Staveley Amateur Operatic Society's latest production!

Yes, Doreen Dunlop is at the helm again for another SAOS spectacular, running at the village hall from Monday to Saturday (September 13-18, starting each night at 7.30pm).

Ever-smiling, positive and patient, Doreen has been putting the players through their paces at rehearsals for the entertaining Gilbert and Sullivan masterpiece of life in the town of Titipu and of the towering Mikado of Japan (Stephen Thompson).

Allan Jackson provides piano accompaniment, as Lynda Read (Yum-Yum), Nick Birbeck (Ko-Ko) and David Towers (Nanki-Poo) whip through Here's a How-De-Do, If I Marry You.

It really is a jolly jaunt, but fun is the essence of G&S - and the tuneful Staveley team. In fact, it takes SAOS full circle after 50 years of merry music-making - The Mikado was its first show way back in 1954.

This year's production signals the final curtain for Staveley stalwart Pam Barrett (formerly Morrow): "She's been absolutely superb," says SAOS chairman Joan Cooper, adding: "She'll be missed."

However, with a glint in her eye, Pam, who plays Katisha, says she'll still do the odd SAOS concert: "I just love singing Gilbert and Sullivan. But I've done 30 years and it's time to step down."

Meanwhile, the shows must go on and Joan daughter of society president and one of its founders Joyce Dixon says new members are always welcome.

The Mikado sees the debut of nine-year-old Asher Amor Train and his mum and dad, Peter and Cathy. Twelve-year-old Megan Hawker is another young talent rising through the society's friendly and enthusiastic ranks.

So, I hear you ask, who joins Lynda as the three little maids? Angela Dixon (Pitti-Sing) who started her affinity with G&S in the chorus of The Mikado at the tender age of 14 in Halifax, and another staunch SAOS member, Madeline Campbell (Peep-Bo).

Apparently, it was a huge Japanese sword suddenly dislodging itself from the wall of playwright and lyricist William Gilbert's study, which gave him the idea for The Mikado way back in the 19th Century.

At the time, London was fascinated by all things Japanese there was an exhibition in Knightsbridge, Japanese artefacts everywhere and Liberty, in Regent Street, had imported many beautiful fabrics from the region.

The Mikado was first staged in 1885 in London's Savoy Theatre, where it ran for 672 performances. And, for the record, Mike Leigh's award-winning 1999 film Topsy-Turvey dramatised the story of the play's creation alongside song and dance.

The Staveley production is a perfect vehicle for the skills of set designer Liz Hawker and her Them in Black stage management crew of Colin Tulley and Paul Walker, whose imaginative talents have transformed the village hall stage into a Japanese vista.

The characters are by no means from the land of the rising sun and Gilbert satirises the Victorian British wonderfully with a distinctive and very thin disguise.

The scene is set in the garden of Ko-Ko's Palace. Nanki-Poo, the Mikado's son, enters disguised as a wandering minstrel. That's when the fun really starts The sparkling wit of The Mikado libretto, and score, push it up among the greatest of all the Savoy Operas, and the splendour and blaze of colour of the production is set to make a breathtaking impact on the Staveley Village Hall audience. It is a great way to celebrate the society's half century!

Tickets cost £6.50 / concessions £5.50 and are available from Kendal Tourist Information Centre, Staveley Post Office, and by telephone on 01539-722277 or 015395-34729.