CHOIRS from across the North-East aimed to hit all the right notes to win the chance to perform onstage for a touring West End show.

Godspell In Concert is currently travelling the country and for every region it visits, a choir from the local area is chosen to sing with the professionals.

Several choirs came to Darlington at the weekend to try and win a place in the show which visits the town’s Civic Theatre in May.

Musical director Russell Scott will tutor the chosen choir and he explained his reasons for introducing the local element.

He said: “My vision was to take Godspell In Concert on the road and to cast choirs from around the country to take part.

“Godspell was conceived as a community piece and what better idea than to bring communities together to sing in a professional UK touring production?

“It’s never been done before and I am thrilled to be undertaking this huge challenge to bring choirs together with our touring professionals and to give opportunities to singers all across the UK to take part in this unique production.”

After a day of auditions on Saturday, a panel of experts now have to decide which choir is most suited to performing onstage in the Darlington production.

The show, which was a huge West End hit in the 1970s and catapulted David Essex to stardom, is running at Darlington Civic Theatre from May 21 to May 23.