TREADING the boards in this year's gang show are 74 Scouts, Guides, Cubs and Brownies all with one thing on their minds - Let Me Entertain You.

The curtain rose last night on the 26th Swindon Gang Show at the Wyvern Theatre where young people from as young as eight presented a series of songs, dances and comedy sketches.

The old style gang show with the theme tune Riding Along On The Crest Of A Wave was the idea of Rover Scout Ralph Reader.

In the Swindon show this week the young performers bring a more modern flavour to the production with a series of numbers from chart topping band One Direction, as well as a mix of popular film songs and musical theatre.

Jane Harvey, Assistant District Commissioner of Swindon North District Scouts, is producing the gang show. This will be her final outing as producer, having co-ordinated the last six shows.

She says the aim is to give young people, who do not necessarily belong to performing arts schools, the chance to perform in front of an audience.

Jane said: "It’s a real challenge to get it going. It’s rewarding to see the work they put in and what they get out of it. There are a lot of the youngsters, who don’t get the chance to perform on stage.''

The soloists, Kayleigh Dunning, Leanne Newman, Erin Donnelly, Aiden Page and Peter Yorke, will be singing in the magic of the musicals section of the show.

And Jane said: "The rest of the cast will be taking us back to the 1980s, singing four songs which include Living on a Prayer and Footloose.''

There are five sketches including the old favourite of Camp Soup. The others are called Signs, Cub CSI, Cinema and one other sketch with a strictly dance theme.

All the cast and back stage crew are members of the Scout Association and Girlguiding UK. The Swindon show is produced every 18 months.

The finale is a mega mix sing-along with plenty of audience participation.

Tickets for tomorrow and Saturday at 7.30pm each night are available from the box office at £12 for adults and £8 for concessions. They are available from 01793 524481 or www.swindontheatre.co.uk

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History of gang show

1907: Robert Baden Powell founded the scout movement. He was inspired by the young men who fought alongside him at the siege of Mafeking. He was a lieutenant general in the British Army, and wrote a book for boys about reconnaissance and scouting. He tried his ideas out at a camp on Brownsea Island and scouting for boys was born.

In 1931, Ralph Reader, a Rover Scout and budding actor was asked to write a Scout-based variety show at Downe Scout Camp. During a rehearsal break he asked a cast member if everyone was ready. The answer was: "Aye, aye Skip, the gang's all here."

1932: The first production, The Gang's All Here, ran at the Scala Theatre in central London. The show was not a sell-out but it was well received.

1933: Baden-Powell persuaded Reader to produce another show, The Gang Comes Back.

1934: The show became The Gang Show, and Crest of The Wave was performed for the first time, becoming the anthem.

1937 The London show became the first amateur production to have a Royal Command Performance. A feature film called The Gang Show, starring Ralph Reader and The Gang, premièred at the Lyceum Theatre, London in April the same year.

Since then the gang show is a regular feature in towns all over Britain.