A joyous celebration of British life comes to Leamington theatre

Lark Rise to Candelford, the first community play in the recently-developed relationship between Leamington dance school Teatro and the Spa Centre, will be performed at the Newbold Terrace theatre on Saturday September 8 and Sunday September 9.

Involving more than 60 adults and children and using the villages of Lapworth and Barford to duplicate the villages in the book, Lark Rise and Candleford, the project has attracted participants from Leamington and Warwick as well as Coventry, Rugby and Birmingham.

Alan Gill, artistic director of the Teatro-Spa Centre collaboration, said: “It’s a fantastic opportunity to bring a really large group of people from quite different background into one big ensemble.

“We’ll have music, bands and morris dancers all coming together in a joyous celebration of British life – so fitting with the success of the Olympics.”

Flora Thompson’s legendary elegiac vision of village life in the 1880s is perhaps most recognised for its television adaptation, which was serialised on BBC One from 2008 to 2010.

The story is seen through the eyes of young Laura Timms and follows a day in the life and relationships of the farm workers, craftsmen and gentry of the fictional hamlet of Lark Rise at the end of the 19th century.

It is the first day of harvest, and the villagers celebrate with the simple pleasures of music, song and dance, creating a moving and evocative picture of a forgotten England.

Partly funded by Warwick District Council, Warwickshire County Council and Live and Local’s Arts On Our Doorstep, the production will also be taken to Lapworth Scarecrow Festival on Saturday September 15.

Tickets to the Spa Centre show, which is on at 2.30pm and 7.30pm on both performance dates, cost £12 (£10 concessions). Call 0845 2183540 or go online.