TALES of the Deep South and Wild West are coming to Weymouth Pavilion.

The Curtain Raisers, young members of Weymouth Drama Club, have been working hard despite the distractions of exams and the World Cup to rehearse and prepare Huckleberry Finn.

The Mark Twain classic is the tale of an adventurous young rascal who runs away and travels along the Mississippi with a slave called Jim. En route, they encounter villains, rascals and madmen and the scrapes they get into are sometimes hilarious and sometimes scary.

Fifteen-year-old Charley Vincent has taken on the role of Huck, with Owen Lewis as Jim and Harry Shooter as Huck’s close friend Tom Sawyer.

On the other side of the coin are conmen The King and the Duke, who are played by James Baird and Mimi Roe-White.

The play is directed by Deborah Walton, last seen on stage for the club in the lead role in Cold Comfort Farm.

She has been living and breathing this script for the last six months to bring out the best in the large cast and is delighted with the talent and dedication shown by her young stars.

Deborah said: “This is the biggest cast I have worked with, and there are 42 children aged between eight and 18.

“It is a real mix and they are all doing extremely well.

“We have had exams and GCSEs added into the mix, so they have all done really well to learn their lines and get to rehearsals on time.

“It is an adventure story at heart, but it does have a serious side too.”

Huckleberry Finn is at Weymouth Pavilion on Friday, July 16 at 7.30pm. Tickets are available from the box office on 01305 783225.