HEREFORD Musical Theatre return to The Courtyard stage this autumn with their latest production, The Witches of Eastwick.

Taking his seat in the director’s chair is HMTC member since 1994, Richard Thomas, who's no stranger to performing in HMTC shows or directing. His directorial debut for the company was Oliver! in 2001, followed by Sweet Charity in 2003. Living in Cardiff, Richard also travelled back and forth to direct Thoroughly Modern Millie in 2008, and a year later directed the sell-out show The Full Monty. His most recent involvement with the company was playing his dream role of Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors in 2013.

Now he takes on The Witches of Eastwick. The story is set in a small suburban American town, where people’s private lives are everyone’s business and no secret is left unaired by the gossips in the town. Three single women live in this town, and their world, as well as the world of Eastwick is turned upside-down with the arrival of a devilish fellow.

“I’ve done the show twice before, once with Orbit in Wales in 2006, and I did it in the Valleys a year or two later, and I remember thinking at the time how much it would suit HMTC, particularly because it relies on such a large active ensemble. I just absolutely loved doing the show before, and I had a real gut feeling it would suit the company. With 52 cast members involved in this show, I know we can make it fantastic.

“The stage show is a lot more cartoon-like than the film - it’s written in such a way that you have to present this perfect, ‘white-picket fence’, view of America, and I didn’t want to go away from that, because you need to set up this perfect town in order to see it fall apart. What I did want to do, particularly for this show, was to give every chorus member playing the town folk a strong character, a family and a background, so that everyone in the show has a story to tell. The ensemble are an integral part to the story-telling, because they drive all the big numbers.”

The show itself includes some dark themes and adult content, including nudity and murder, and presents the lead principles, and the ensemble with some challenging situations. “Before rehearsals, we made sure the company were aware that they would be required to carry out certain scenes. Some of the content is quite challenging and exposing for them, and we have made sure that the actors are comfortable and feel confident doing some of the more adult scenes. I have just made sure they embrace the storytelling and feel the character.

“It’s a very fun, lively adult show and it’s very funny. There is a sense of sexiness and mystery about it, but on top of that it has some great musical numbers, so if you are someone that loves a show with plenty of show tunes, this is the one for you!”

The Witches of Eastwick will run at The Courtyard from Tuesday, November 3 to Saturday, November 7 at 7.30pm every day, with a Saturday matinee performance at 2.30pm. To book, call the box office on 01432 340555 or visit courtyard.org.uk. Please note, the show does contain some adult content and is not suitable for anyone under the age of 16.