A BRAND new stage adaptation of Sebastian Faulks’s much loved novel Birdsong is coming to Malvern next year, marking the very first touring production of the play.

Directed by Alastair Whatley, The Original Theatre Company and Birdsong Productions Ltd’s production of Birdsong will run at Malvern Theatres between March 4 and 9.

The much loved wartime epic is an intimate story of love and sacrifice, set against the backdrop of the Western Front.

In pre-war France, young Englishman Stephen Wraysford embarks on a passionate and dangerous affair with his host’s wife, Isabelle Azaire.

As civil unrest mounts and war breaks in on the idyll of his former life, Stephen finds he must now lead his men through the carnage of the Battle of the Somme and the sprawling tunnels that lie deep underground, while clinging to the shrinking memory of Isabelle.

Rachel Wagstaff, who has adapted the story for the stage, said: “Birdsong is in an incredibly powerful novel, and through the story of Faulks's fictional characters, we can understand what it might have been like for individuals caught up in this most extraordinary period of world history.”

The touring cast includes Hollyoaks actress Sarah Jayne Dunn, Eastenders’s Charlie G Hawkins and Arthur Bostrom, ‘Allo ‘Allo’s legendary Officer Crabtree.

The tour is also proud to be supporting Help for Heroes.

Birdsong runs at Malvern’s Festival Theatre, in Grange Road, Malvern, between March 4 and 9, at 7.30pm, with matinee performances at 2.30pm on Wednesday and Saturday.

Tickets are available online at malvern-theatres.co.uk or by calling 01684 892277.