Four generations of the same family are involved in the Finchley and Friern Barnet Operatic Society's latest show, about survival in the urban jungle. Miriam Craig finds out more

When Muswell Hill resident George Manley founded a musical theatre group, little did he know members of his family would still be involved 86 years later.

The aim of Mr Manley and the choirmaster at St George's Church, in Priory Road, Muswell Hill, in 1922 was to provide more varied material for the choir, who no longer wanted to restrict themselves to hymns.

Now Mr Manley's grandson Ian Thomson is the Finchley and Friern Barnet Operatic Society's business manager, and will help backstage in the latest production, Cy Coleman's musical Sweet Charity.

Mr Thomson's mother-in-law Pearl Porter, 79, will appear on stage, his daughter Vicki Thomson, 32, is in charge of props, and his great-niece Jessica Cooper, 18, is one of the dancers.

It was through the society that Mr Thompson met his wife, Jenny.

Mr Thomson says: "It can be a bit chaotic around show time with so many members of the family doing different jobs.

"The weekend before the show Pearl's house always gets disrupted with everyone going to try on costumes. It's nice to uphold the tradition."

Like the younger members of Mr Thomson's family, Katrina Lindop, 29, a solicitor from Palmers Green, has been involved in amateur dramatics from an early age. She has been taking part in shows with the Finchley and Friern Barnet Operatic Society for four years, and is playing Charity in this production.

Living in New York in the Sixties, Charity works as a dancer who men pay to dance with them in a seedy dance hall. The show follows her rocky love life and the burgeoning romance she has with Oscar, a shy tax accountant.

Ms Lindop says: "Charity is a hopeless romantic, but she's also a bit geeky. She's outgoing and makes a fool of herself on a regular basis.

"She doesn't want to be working at the dance hall any more but she's waiting for her knight in shining armour to come along. She wants to make a better life for herself.

"The show is great fun. You'll be really surprised by the number of songs you'll know, like Hey, Big Spender and The Rhythm of Life."

As social chair of the society, one of Ms Lindop's concerns is organising fundraising events to help meet productions costs.

She says: "Each show tends to cost between £20,000 and £25,000. When you're not a profit-making company you can imagine putting on something like that is really difficult.

"We don't pay anyone to be involved, but have to pay the cost of hiring the theatre and all the equipment. It's big money.

"I think that's one reason West End theatres are now charging so much. Coming to see a local show is a really nice alternative."

Sweet Charity is on at Millfield Arts Centre, in Silver Street, Edmonton, from Tuesday until April 19, at 7.45pm, with a Saturday matinee at 3pm. Tickets cost £12 (Friday and Saturday evening £13) and are available from the box office on 020 8482 6923. For more information, visit ffbos.com