The musical, Honk, is being staged by the Stroke Of Genius Community Theatre Company at the Magnus School, Newark, from October 28 to 30.

It is a new venture for professional theatre directors Carolyn Drury of Newark and Lisa Lee of Mansfield and is supported financially by Newark Arts Forum.

It features a cast of 50 actors — some from the Newark-based Nearly Instant Theatre Session and the Newark Amateur Operatic Society.

Carolyn said: “The dialogue is witty, the characters engaging and there are some wonderful performances.

“Both Lisa and I felt there was a need for a company in Newark which would welcome actors of all ages and abilities and which would produce large scale plays and musicals.

“While Honk has some well-known Newark actors in the cast it also has 25 children taking part as tap dancing frogs and ducklings among other roles.

“It has been a difficult show to produce with a very long props list, many of which have to be scaled to human size but used by small birds and animals. It has the largest TV remote ever seen.

“The show has a band under the direction of Matthew Casterton and plays some challenging music. It is a show to make you laugh and cry and we hope for support from as many as possible.”

Hatched by George Stiles and Anthony Drewes in 1993, it is based on the Hans Christian Andersen story of The Ugly Duckling. Tickets are available from Chuckles in The Buttermarket, Newark.