ORGANISERS of a wacky and wonderful opera with a twist are on the hunt for more people to get involved.

Based on an original idea by Sally Vaughan and written and composed by Andrew Dickson, FLEA!, by UkuleleOpera, which has been three years in the pipeline, tells the story of Madame Celine, the exotic ringmistress of an extraordinary flea circus.

The word ukulele means ‘jumping flea’ in Hawaiian, and the show uses the instrument as the main theme in both the story and the music. It is, however, by no means the only theme. Organisers said the show will bring together many different art forms including circus, music, dance, acting, design, digital technology – and even dog agility.

UkuleleOpera is a six month project which will culminate in 6 performances of FLEA! at The Electric Palace in May 2017.

Drawing on the wealth of experienced local arts practitioners, the team so far includes director Niki McCretton (Stuff & Nonsense Theatre Company), choreographer Anna Golding (No Limits Dance Group) and features Hester Goodman (Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain) in the lead role.

But more cast and crew are needed. Anyone can get involved in the performance and production of this unique, timely and inclusive ‘peoples opera’. There will be around 50 roles for the show plus everything else it takes to make it happen.

Producer Sally Vaughan said: “We’d like to encourage anyone who is interested to come along to a public launch on Thursday, January 5 from 7pm to 9pm at The Bull Hotel, Bridport.

“There we will showcase some samples of the script and the music and explain how people can get involved. You don’t need to be an experienced actor or musician. You don’t need to be able to play the ukulele!

“We are looking for everything from lead character actors to curtain pullers to set builders to dog handlers.”

To find out more, email info@ukuleleopera.org.uk or visit ukuleleopera.org.uk.