Bugsy Malone production is a sell-out hit at Thomas Gainsborough School in Great Cornard

Students transported audiences back to the 1920s with their own production of the slapstick musical comedy Bugsy Malone.

Dozens of pupils at Thomas Gainsborough School in Great Cornard took part in the annual production, which was staged across four sell-out performances last month.

Set in New York, students donned smart suits and cocktail dresses as they took on the roles of two rival gangs, who battled out their differences with whipped-cream toting guns and custard pies.

Praising the performance, Jo Arrow, head of drama, said: “We chose Bugsy Malone as it is a fun production and probably the messiest show we have ever done.

“We wanted to do something where the whole school could get involved and we were delighted to have Year 7 students working closely with our sixth formers.

“It was an excellent production, full of laughs and, I think, greatly enjoyed by the audience, while our students are already asking about the next one.”

In preparation for the production, students created their own props, including a series of splurge guns, which fired out pretend squirted cream, to replicate some of the comical scenes from the 1976 film.

Mrs Arrow praised the commitment and support of head of music Nick Reynolds and dance teacher, Luke Ashworth, while recognising the collective efforts of the whole school.

She added: “Everyone performed and worked so hard to make it a success and I would especially like to mention our leads, Nathan Baldwin as Bugsy Malone, Isabel Walker as Blousey and James Thomas as Fat Sam.”