AN intense and powerful play set against the backdrop of a 19th century conflict will be performed from Saturday.

Bolton Little Theatre (BLT), in Hanover Street, will stage Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance until Saturday, November 8.

John Arden’s 1959 play is set against a background of imperialist conflict and acknowledged to be one of the most important works to explore the futility of the dehumanisation of war.

Director Sandra Simpson, who has written a ballad to open the play with music composed and performed by Dean Lane, said: “As a student of English Literature reading the play for the first time, my heart was pounding in my ears as the story moved to a climax I could not possibly have imagined.

"Now, all these years later, we hope to create that same powerful response in our audiences.”

Serjeant Musgrave and his small band of men — deserters traumatised by atrocities witnessed in a nameless colonial conflict — arrive in an impoverished Northern mining town in the winter of 1880 to find the townspeople suffering in the grip of a miners’ strike.

Musgrave in particular is tormented by remorse over a soldier’s death, as well as the killing of five men in a reprisal by British forces.

A testament to what is considered a modern classic, previous stage productions have included BLT patron Sir Ian McKellen, John Thaw and Bolton’s Maxine Peake.

Serjeant Musgrave’s Dance contains colourful language, used in the 1880s, and opens in BLT’s Forge studio theatre on Saturday, November 1.

The cast features Peter Scofield, Martin Miller, Sam Cooper, Matt Rigby, Catherine Hayes, Sue Gill, Keith Thompson, Chris Tofalos, David Wilson, Glenn Robinson and Matt Rigby.

For tickets, phone 01204 334400 / 01204 524469 or visit boltonlittletheatre.co.uk.

n A DRAMA with a sprinkling of comedy which sees an amateur dramatic group locked in a theatre is being staged in Over Hulton.

St Vincent’s ADS' latest production, Curtain Up on Murder, is on at St Vincent’s Church Hall, Rutherford Drive, until Saturday.

The clever plot, written by Bettine Manktelow, sees the group rehearsing in a theatre, at the end of a pier.

They are locked in as one by one they meet with a fatal accident, until only two are left — or are there more?

Maureen Clare, the long-standing secretary of the society, is making her debut as a producer with the thriller and even helped correct a mistake in the play's guide notes.

Howard Clare, the group's vice chairman, said: "During the production, Maureen and the cast noticed a discrepancy in the stage directions.

"To clarify, she contacted the author, Bettine Manktelow, who replied very promptly in order to rectify the problem.

"She was very helpful and thanked Maureen for being so astute.

"The play has been in production all over the world since 1999 and no-one has previously noticed the error and assured her it would be corrected in the next reprint."

The play runs until Saturday and tickets cost £5, call 01942 818688 or 01204 594922.