Stamford Shoestring Theatre

Marking the centenary of the Great War's outbreak we present The Accrington Pals. Set in Accrington during 1914-16, the story is fiction, the background reality. The "Pals" - men from the local volunteer battalion - were formed and fought just as described in the play. Their experiences of life during training and on the Western Front are contrasted with those of the women left behind.

These women had to adapt to new patterns of life facing financial and sexual deprivation, as well as being thrown into the social changes that resulted from the absence of many men. At times funny, at times sad, the play paints a moving and powerful picture of civilian life during war-time. Unlike most plays on this subject it uniquely views the war through the eyes of private soldiers and their women rather than the officers and their ladies.

Reviewing a recent production Michael Billington wrote: "It strikes me as one of the best plays ever about the First World War". (The Guardian January 2013)