A bittersweet comedy about life, love and music will be staged in Cockermouth.

Cockermouth Amateur Dramatic Society will be putting on Quartet, written by Ronald Harwood.

The play opens with three elderly opera singers, Cissy, Reg and Wilf, living quietly and relatively happily in a retirement home for musicians. But the peaceful atmosphere is about to be shattered by the arrival of legendary diva Jean Horton. Jean was a big star in her time and was once unhappily married to Reg.

A CADS spokesman said: "Warm, witty and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny, Quartet was made into a successful film. But the stage play puts the focus back where it belongs – on the four colourful characters and their often complex, tempestuous relationships with each other."

The production features Morgan Sweeney and Kelly Davis as Reg and Jean, and Alison Shutt and Jim Samson as Cissy and Wilf. Director Len Wainwright said: "It’s been great working with this talented group of actors on one of the funniest plays I've ever directed."

The play runs from Friday March 29 to Sunday March 31. The Friday and Saturday performances start at 7.30pm. The Sunday performance is a matinee, starting at 2.30pm. Tickets, priced at £10 (or £5 for under-25s), are available online at www.kirkgatearts.org.uk.