So what can I say about Trowbridge Amateur Operatic Society that hasn't been said before? writes Peter Browne.

This year's production, Fiddler on the Roof, which opened at the Civic Hall on Tuesday and finishes tomorrow (Saturday) has the qualities the habitually crowded houses have been taught to expect from this company - expert singing and dancing, strong leads and great support from a large and dedicated company.

And after last year's somewhat quirky choice of musical, Brigadoon, one must also acknowledge their improved and ambitious taste in choosing this story of touch life in a Jewish settlement during the pogroms of pre-revolutionary Russia.

The musical, with music by Jerry Bock and words by Sheldon Harnick, and the subject of a successful film 21 years ago, shows traditional Jewish life against the background of international change, about to face yet another bloody upheaval in an endless history of persecution.

The players, with the support of an accomplished orchestra, exploit the dramatic potential fully, and make one think, again, that although they may not be professional in the remunerative sense, they are in the other one.