Delighted to be the first show back at Littlehampton’s Windmill Entertainment Centre

It will also be their first show under their new name. The company rebranded from the old name Littlehampton Players Operatic Society on March 1 this year to “align with the vision of the society which has a broader focus on all musical and theatrical productions.”

LPOS vice chairman David Upcraft can’t wait to get back on the boards from April 17-20 with the 1950s musical classic The Pajama Game. And to celebrate the reopening of the Windmill, the company are offering £2 off every ticket with the code WINDMILL at the checkout. Tickets available at www.ticketsource.co.uk/lpos.

It will be just over eight months on from the devastating Harvester Restaurant fire which closed the Windmill for repairs. As David says, Freedom Leisure and Arun District Council “have since worked tirelessly to repair the venue in time for LPOS’ new production.

“There has been some frustration among some of the hirers but we think they've done really well in the circumstances. The fire service did an incredible job in saving the building but there was an awful lot of water damage and everyone has really worked incredibly hard. The council were great at keeping in touch and letting us know what was happening so really we are just pleased to be back.

“We had to cancel a show that we were doing for October which was going to be the Gilbert & Sullivan operetta Iolanthe but that has now been rescheduled for October this year. We were three and a half or four months into rehearsals and we were pretty much ready to go with the show which was a real shame but it's a real joy to be able to retain our cast and we're really excited to be able to bring it back in October.”

In the meantime though all eyes are on The Pajama Game. Based on the novel 7 and 1/2 Cents, the show tells the story of the workers at Sleep Tite Pajama Factory in Iowa in the mid-1950s as they struggle with the management over a long-fought war over wages. As the new superintendent for the factory, Sid Sorokin – played by David – joins the factory to improve operations, can he unsnarl things between the union and the management or will his feelings for the head of the grievance committee Babe Williams prove too much to navigate?

“It is one of those traditional roaring musicals full of songs that people will recognise without necessarily knowing where they come from. There are some big, big rousing company numbers that people will know without necessarily knowing the setting.”

It's a show that David knows well. He was follow-spot operator when the musical was staged at Chichester Festival Theatre in 2013 starring Joanna Riding and Hadley Fraser. David worked backstage at the Festival Theatre from 2012 to 2016 for shows including Barnum.

“The Pajama Game was an incredible show to work on. It was wonderfully well put together and the leads were just such lovely people, very warm and welcoming, and as leading characters they did an amazing job just making sure that everyone felt part of it.”