STAGECOACH Youth Theatre York director John Cooper remembers the reactions of his all-female cast after the first read-through of Amanda Whittington's new play, Be My Baby.

Adjectives such as "funny, sad, touching, moving, hilarious and heart breaking" were all in abundance after eight senior members of the youth theatre and two of their mothers, Helen Scoullar and Wilma Edwards, began work on the piece last November.

Their labours (if you'll forgive the expression) come to fruition at the Oak Room of the De Grey Rooms, York, in a week's run from Monday.

Set in a mother and baby home in 1964 in the North, Be My Baby follows the fortunes of Mary Adams, aged 19, unmarried and seven months pregnant. Forcibly sent there by a mother intent on keeping up appearances, Mary has to cope with the shame and realisation that she will have to give the baby up.

Writer Amanda Whittington recalls her months of research: "Starting work on the play, I was faced with questions about the mother. Was she unmarried? Who did she tell about the pregnancy? And where did she go to have the baby?

"Not surprisingly, I found no Official History of Unmarried Mother and Baby Homes. What I did discover were many 'first person' accounts of such places in books and documentaries on adoption. The Sixties weren't swinging for these young women. They spoke of being sent away like criminals to live out their pregnancy in secrecy and shame."

Despite this gloomy synopsis, Whittington balances her drama with the girls' youthful effervescence which breaks through as they sing along to girl-group pop songs of the period.

In the original production, the scenes were punctuated by tracks made famous by such groups as The Ronettes, the Dixie Cups and The Shangri-Las. Stagecoach has gone one step further, linking the scenes with live renditions of those numbers performed by their own girl group, The Chantones.

Be My Baby plays at the De Grey Rooms, St Leonard's Place, York, from February 19 to 24. The seating capacity is limited to 40 and tickets are available from York Theatre Royal's box office, tel 01904 623568. Prices: £5 for adults; £3.50 concessions.