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Prestwich-based Charter Players are offering VIP tickets to the opening night of their production of The Ring of Stones at the 1,700-seat Lyric Theatre on Tuesday, December 5.

The musical played to rave reviews when it premiered at the Dancehouse Theatre in Manchester last year and is expected to be a big success on its five-day run at The Lowry in Salford Quays.

North West Arts Board has granted ?20,000 towards the cost of staging the production which should appeal to lovers of lavish musicals such as Les Miserables and Miss Saigon.

Professional actors will be playing the lead roles and costumes have been designed by Bafta award winner Jane Robinson who has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood.

The musical tells the story of the village of Eyam in Derbyshire where almost every inhabitant perished when they sealed off their community to protect the wider world when they were struck by the plague.

The first five northmanchester.net readers to email the answer to the following question: Which theatre will stage the musical The Ring of Stones? to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it will claim a pair of tickets.

Director Eddie Brierley, who co-wrote the musical with actor colleague peter Robinson and professional musician Arthur Conett, is confident the show will be a success.

He said: "Not only are the leading roles being played by young professionals who are absolutely dedicated to this project, but almost the entire technical team is composed of young practitioners who have grown up with the company and now work in professional theatre.

"We would like to thank the North West Arts Board for helping us stage what we hope will be one of the best community shows the UK has ever seen."