Oldham Coliseum

Wartime band leader Betty is in trouble. Her all-girl swing group, the Blonde Bombshells was the greatest in the North, but half the band has gone AWOL after illicit liaisons with American GIs and the promise of nylons.

With their debut on the BBC imminent, the Bombshells desperately need to recruit. Enter Lily, the singing nun, Elizabeth, the innocent school girl who plays a mean clarinet, and Patrick, the draft dodging drummer, who'd rather wear a frock than face enemy fire.

Alan Plater's warm and witty musical features live swing band performances of 1940's classics by Fats Waller, the Andrews Sisters, Flanagan and Allen and Glenn Miller and wry deadpan humour.