A DRAUGHTY church hall, a battered tape player and a group of people who are anything but polished performers.
That’s the setting for Stepping Out – and it’s exactly why the play continues to resonate decades after it was first written.
Guide Bridge Theatre is bringing Richard Harris’s much-loved comedy to Audenshaw this month, inviting local audiences to spend an evening with seven women and one man who meet weekly to learn tap dancing while quietly carrying the weight of everyday life.
On the surface, Stepping Out is full of laughs, missteps and familiar frustrations – forgotten routines, aching joints and clashing personalities.
But beneath the humour is a more tender story about loneliness, resilience and the unexpected bonds that form when people simply show up for one another.
As the group prepares for a charity recital, their individual stories unfold: disappointments, insecurities and small victories revealed between shuffles and time steps.
Directed by Quina Chapman, this amateur production leans into the warmth and humanity that have made Stepping Out an award-winning favourite.
The show runs from Monday, January 26, to Saturday, January 31, at the Audenshaw Road venue, with evening performances at 7.30pm and a Saturday matinee at 2pm.
Tickets are available online at https://www.ticketsource.co.uk/gbt/e-bexvdx with audiences promised an uplifting night out filled with laughter, rhythm and more than a few recognisable moments.