ACTORS from the Keighley area will head to the trenches next week in a heartfelt drama.

They will be amongst the cast of RC Sherriff’s classic play about the First World War, Journey’s End, from Bingley Little Theatre.

Jamie Rogers plays the lead role, with a cast including Keighley Playhouse actors Ian Wilkinson, Mark Rundle, Gerard Kennedy and Julian Freeman, along with Harry Rundle, Mike Smith, Garth Rookes and Rick Hoddy.

The play takes place in an officers’ dugout in the four days running-up to the real-life Battle of St Quentin.

This battle, fought between March 18 and 21 in 1917, led to the loss of many lives on both sides.

Group spokesman Alison Main said the playwright had difficulty getting his play produced when it was written in 1928.

She said: “There was little appetite for such drama and, besides, there was no leading lady. No lady at all, in fact.

“But it was supported by George Bernard Shaw and later a film version appeared, followed by a TV adaptation.”

In the bunker the audience meet different officers, who create an authentic atmosphere combining the stress of waiting with its boredom.

Alison said: “The characters react in a variety of ways to the situation and each other, and issues which were important then, such as social class and comradeship, are raised.

“In addition, we can consider the nature of heroism, and the role that courage, or cowardice, may have to play.

“Sherriff also encourages us to question the generals and those in power, which naturally offended the army authorities of the day.”

Journey’s End, described as a timeless classic, now appears on the GCSE syllabus.

The play influenced Noel Coward, who briefly took a major role in the it, and it is thought to have inspired the final episode of Blackadder which was also set in the trenches.

• Journey’s End is at Bingley Arts Centre from Monday to Saturday (April 13-18) at 7.30pm.

Visit ticketsource.co.uk/bingleyartscentre or call 01274 567983 to book tickets.