Troupers are marching into Lechlade this month to mark the 100 years since the beginning of the First World War.

Mikron Theatre is presenting Troupers, the story of an actress determined to keep theatre alive during the horrors of war by taking her company to the muddy, bloody fields of Flanders, to entertain the troops on the frontline.

The action takes place at The Trout Inn, St John’s Bridge, in Lechlade, on Monday, July 28, at 7.30pm. It is part of a national tour by Mikron, up and down the rivers and canals of the UK, as the cast are travelling by narrowboat. They moor by canal-side venues such as pubs, village halls and marinas and the cast of four unpack their set, props, costumes, musical instruments and lighting before the eyes of their al fresco audiences.

Mikron Theatre’s artistic director Marianne McNamara said: “Troupers is about those who entertain and enrich the lives of our service men and women and how that started out.”

She says she wanted to mark the important anniversary, but from a woman’s point of view, as most plays based around the period concentrate on the horror from a man’s view.

There are no ticket sales but there will be a collection after the show. – Flicky Harrison