The story of the Dagenham ladies striking to achieve pay equality in their factory is one which has been immortalised in the resulting Equal Pay Act 1970.

But not only is this story made the more incredible by its success, it has also touched the hearts of film lovers and theatre goers for years, in the well known film-turned musical Made In Dagenham.

Now, actress Amanda Noar and her amateur theatre company, Impact, will be performing the musical in gala performances at artsdepot in North Finchley.

For Amanda, showcasing strong female characters was of real importance to her, and something which should be done at this time as we approach International Women's Day.

She says: "The subject of the show, equal pay and rights for women, is SO relevant today and I feel very strongly about the message it gives to women everywhere. Add to that a fantastic musical score, an extremely funny script and something that will appeal to audiences, young and old, it was the perfect choice for Impact."

The story follows Rita O'Grady, a worker in the Ford Motor Company's Dagenham plant, who decides she and the other sewers in the factory must strike after they discover they have been graded as non-skilled workers, while the men are earning 15 per cent more as skilled workers.

Bringing together some of her company's long-time cast members, including Deborah Fegan, who played Charity in the company's Sweet Charity two years ago, and Arran Davies, who won an award for his depiction of Dave in last year's The Fully Monty, Amanda hopes this show will truly illustrate the importance and impact of the Dagenham ladies and hilarity of the script.

Their show will be in aid of North London Hospice and Action on Hearing Loss, which for some of the company's players, have been instrumental in helping members of their families through difficult times.

"North London Hospice is a local charity and last year, during our rehearsals of The Full Monty, two of our members lost their mothers to cancer," she says.

"North London Hospice lent a helping hand during the illnesses and helped the families get through an extremely difficult time.

"Action On Hearing loss, our second charity, came to me through a mutual friend and again, we have a lot of members who have family affected by hearing loss; we always try to choose a charity that has some connection to us in one way or other."

Amanda started the company about 20 years ago after her rabbi drafted her in to help put on a show for the community.

She says: "Since then, I have never looked back and what started as a small project in the synagogue hall, has now turned into a company of around 60 people of all ages and abilities, putting on annual shows, at the artsdepot, North Finchley, raising money for different charities."

Her hopes is that not only will her players have an incredible time, but that those who come along will help raise money for fantastic causes and find out more about the great work the charities do.

"We truly hope to raise money, of course, but also awareness that these two charities exist and rely on donations to keep afloat," she says.

"These charities are both on our doorstep and while everyone hopes that they will never need them, where would we be if they didn't exist?

Impact Theatre Company's gala performances of Made in Dagenham take place on March 14-17 at the artsdepot, Nether Street, North Finchley, N12 0GA. Tickets are available on www.ticketsource.co.uk/impacttheatrecompany