THE BAFTA Award-winning television star and writer Ruth Jones is currently making her highly anticipated return to the stage in touring version of The Nightingales.

It arrives in Malvern tonight (Monday) at the Festival Theatre where she will star alongside Steven Pacey, Stefan Adegbola, Sarah Earnshaw, Philip McGinley and Mary Stockley.

The production, directed by RSC Associate Artist Christopher Luscombe and written by William Gaminara, will run at Malvern for the rest of the week until Saturday, December 8.

The Nightingales is a thought-provoking, bittersweet play which follows the lives of a small community acapella group in their weekly singing practice, and the impact of new arrival, Maggie.

Under the watchful eye of Steven, their choirmaster, Connie, Ben, Diane and Bruno gather every week in the village hall to practise their accomplished acapella singing.

They are a motley crew, but whatever their differences, whatever the problems they may have at home, all are happily bound together in their shared love of music. Until one day Maggie knocks on the door. . .

Soon she is urging them to enter Talentfest, a potentially life-changing route to Britain’s Got Talent.

In the weeks that follow, loyalties will be tested, tempers will fray and lives will indeed be changed - but not in the way that any of them had quite anticipated.

Ruth Jones (Maggie) is best known for playing Nessa in the BBC’s multi-award winning Gavin and Stacey which she co-wrote and created with James Corden.

She also took the title role in Sky 1’s Stella - made by her own company Tidy Productions, which ran for six seasons, gaining Ruth a BAFTA nomination for Best Female Performance in a comedy.