THE West End comes to Ryedale when one of London's biggest musicals, We Will Rock You, is staged at the Milton Rooms, Malton, from Wednesday to Saturday.

The production will be the most ambitious yet for the Ryedale Youth Theatre, the first youth group in the north to produce an amateur version of Queen and Ben Elton's hit show, now playing at the Dominion Theatre.

Ryedale Youth Theatre has been staging shows for 16 years, and We Will Rock You will be one of the most costly with its use of the latest technology and costumes for 60 youngsters.

Directed and choreographed by Angela Kirkham and musically directed by Martin Dixon, the cast of six to 18 year olds is raring to go.

"We have a great wealth of talent in the Malton and Norton area and it's really come to the fore with this production, " says chairman Barbara Wood.

"Some members never appear on stage but do fantastic work behind the scenes, because part of our mission is to encourage all young people who are interested in theatre both on and off the stage.

"We're very lucky to have really skilled students from York College working with us on lighting, sound and, this year, video projection."

While technical challenges are nothing new to the backstage crew, the task with We Will Rock You is much greater because of the show's extreme technicalities.

Instead of the usual scenery, the video and lighting crew, led by Ian Goring of White Rose Video, will back the Milton Rooms stage with a large LED screen, on which images will be projected behind the cast.

The theatre group needs financial help to present such a hi-tech format.

"We're hoping to find commercial sponsorship, " says Barbara.

"We have some generous patrons and commercial sponsors and our ticket sales are going well, but this show is expensive and we'd be delighted to hear from anyone who can help with the cost".

Evening performances start 7.15pm; matinees on Thursday and next Saturday at 2pm.

Tickets: £6, children and concessions £5, from Tourist Information Centre, Malton, tel 01653 600048.