A STAGE version of one of the best-loved British films of the 1980s has had to be cancelled.Westacre River Studios had planned to tap into the area's wealth of young theatrical talent for its home-grown production of Gregory's Girl, ready to hit the stage for nine performances in April.

A STAGE version of one of the best-loved British films of the 1980s has had to be cancelled.

Westacre River Studios had planned to tap into the area's wealth of young theatrical talent for its home-grown production of Gregory's Girl, ready to hit the stage for nine performances in April.

But a casting crisis has forced the studios' creative team to pull the show - one of its spring highlights - from the schedules.

The production of the teenage comedy would have involved about 15 young people, drawn from across central Norfolk. But a combination of this year's early Easter, exam preparations and other commitments for cast members has conspired to ravage the planned rehearsals.

Isobel Smith, who runs the studios at West Acre with Andy Naylor, told the Times: "We are just very, very sad about it. It just was not going to work, and we are not prepared to put on something that is not fit to go on.

"We have tried every which way to do it by rewriting, but you still need cast members. At the end of the day the best thing to do was to draw a line under it."

The cancellation means the auditorium at the studios will be "dark" through April.

The next big chance for younger performers to shine will be at the studios' summer theatre season, which will include a production of the Keith Waterhouse classic comedy, Billy Liar.