An amateur dramatics group has had a positive start to the year after receiving not one, but two nominations for a national award.

Fakenham and District Light Operatic Society (FADLOS) raised the curtain on 2019 with some exciting news following its last production.

The musical White Christmas, which was staged in December, saw more than 1,000 people attend and has now been nominated for a prestigious industry award.

The production has been nominated in the Best Musical category in the East of England National Operatic and Dramatic Association (NODA) awards.

Chairman Ben Francis said: “We thoroughly enjoyed staging White Christmas for the people of Fakenham and beyond, so to discover that our hard work has been recognised by NODA is a lovely surprise.

“White Christmas was a special show for us as it was dedicated to our friend and former member Roy Ferris, who passed away in 2017.

“We were delighted to have been able to raise more than £437 for Cancer Research in Roy’s name from collections during our performances.”

As well as a nomination for White Christmas, FADLOS also received the news that its May 2018 production of My Fair Lady is nominated for Best Freestanding Set in the same awards.

The group hope to continue their success in 2019 with the East Anglian premiere of Chitty Chitty Bang Bang later in the year in May.

Mr Francis added: “We’re looking forward to Chitty Chitty Bang Bang and are currently looking for children to appear as part of the production.”

NODA is the national body that represents amateur theatre and was founded in 1899. Any amateur theatre society can become a member of NODA.

The currently have more than 2,000 society members and over 1,000 individual enthusiasts staging musicals, operas, plays, concerts and pantomimes in venues ranging from the country’s leading professional theatres to village halls.

- Open auditions for children aged seven to 13 years old for Chitty Chitty Bang Bang will take place on Monday February 11 at 6pm to 7pm at Fakenham Community Centre. More Information can be found on the Facebook page or website .