MALVERN Theatre Players celebrates 25 years of residency by staging its first all-youth main stage production next week.

The players, who have teamed up with QinetiQ, present Shake, Ripple and Roll at Forum Theatre from next Wednesday until Saturday, April 27.

A cast of 40 youngsters aged 12-19 have been chosen from open auditions which attracted 70 hopefuls from across the Malvern district, as well as further afield.

The show is a musical set in Uncle Angelo's ice cream parlour in a small town outside New York in the fifties.

All the kids hang out there eating ice cream, drinking shakes and rocking to the sounds on the old jukebox.

The QinetiQ Malvern site has a long-standing association with the Malvern Theatre Players which has its roots in the site's theatrical society, the Nelson Players, which was established during the Second World War but is now defunct.

Many QinetiQ staff are members of the players and QinetiQ Year in Industry students are also involved in the production.

Shows start at 7.30pm and tickets cost £6.50 or £5 for children from the box office on 01684 892277.