BINGLEY Little Theatre will present Peter Quilter’s comedy Glorious! next month.

Based on a true story, Glorious! invites the audience into the world of legendary New York heiress Florence Foster Jenkins at the turn of the last century.

Florence wanted to be a great operatic diva, despite having one of the worst singing voices in history, and she used all her money, charm and unstoppable will-power to make it happen.

She spun from charity recitals, before groups of devoted friends, to extravagant balls, where Florence’s enthusiasm and joy more than made up for her imperfect pitch.

The soprano voice she heard in her head was beautiful, and it never occurred to her that this was not the sound issuing from her mouth.

Paying little attention to her critics, the unconventional career of the ‘first lady of the sliding scale’ culminated in a triumphant sell-out concert at Carnegie Hall, New York, shortly before her death.

The play opens in 1940s New York, in the apartment at the Seymour Hotel which Madame Jenkins shares with the English actor, St Clair, and where we find her auditioning her pianist Cosme McMoon.

Add in a Mexican maid who speaks no English, plus her ditzy companion Dorothy, and the promise is for a funny yet touching play.

Glorious! can be seen at Bingley Arts Centre from January 21 to 26. Call 01274 567983 or visit bingleylittletheatre.co.uk to book tickets.