MIKE Leigh’s operatic debut, The Pirates of Penzance, will be broadcast live around the world as part of ENO Screen – English National Opera’s successful series of live screenings.

The Pirates of Penzance will be screened live from the Coliseum to Ludlow Assembly Rooms on Tuesday at 7.30pm.

Fresh from the major success of his celebrated film, Mr Turner, renowned film maker, director and Gilbert & Sullivan aficionado Mike Leigh makes his opera directing debut with this eagerly anticipated new production of sparkling comic masterpiece The Pirates of Penzance. In a hilarious performance where comedy and romance combine with surprising twists and turns, this popular farcical comedy features swashbuckling pirates, flat footed policemen, razor sharp satire and memorable melodies.

The Pirates of Penzance tells the story of the pirate apprentice Frederic and his love for Mabel, the daughter of Major-General Stanley who has the famous tongue-twisting patter song ‘I am the very model of a modern Major-General’, a song that's frequently been lampooned in popular culture including The Muppet Show, Babylon 5, Frasier, Scrubs, Star Trek-The Next Generation, Family Guy and Spitting Image.

President of the Sir Arthur Sullivan Society and the W.S. Gilbert Society and lifelong fan of the quintessentially English duo, Mike Leigh wrote and directed the 1999 BAFTA winning film Topsy Turvy starring Jim Broadbent as W.S. Gilbert and Allan Corduner as Arthur Sullivan.

The Pirates of Penzance will be screened live on Tuesday at 7.30pm. To book, call the box office on 01584 878141 or visit ludlowassemblyrooms.co.uk