TAVONIANS Theatre Company is presenting a powerful play about the anguish of Rudyard Kipling and his family during the Great War.

My Boy Jack, written by David Haig, will be on tour in local towns and villages and as part of the Tavistock Festival, with performances in Sourton, Bere Alston, Milton Abbot, Callington and Tavistock.

The play tells the story of anxiety before Jack went to war and the anguish suffered by the Kipling family after his death in the Battle of Loos. Kipling wrote a moving poem after his son, an 18-year-old lieutenant, went missing in action in 1915.

Kipling had been a great supporter of the war and regarded the Germans as barbarians so when the Government asked him to write propaganda he willingly accepted. However he seemed to have changed his attitude and later wrote ‘If any question why we died, tell, them, because our fathers lied’.

In this 150th anniversary year of the birth of Rudyard Kipling, Tavonians will be bringing his family’s story to life, including Kipling’s own agony following his determination to send his myopic only son to war.

The tour starts on Wednesday, April 27 with a visit to the parish hall in Sourton, going on to perform at the parish hall in Bere Alston, Milton Abbot Village Hall, Callington?Town Hall and The Wharf in Tavistock. See the forthcoming event advert on page 15 for more details on dates and tickets.

Tavonians Theatre Company, which recently celebrated its 80th birthday, is based in Tavistock and performs a range of thrillers, comedies and dramas to entertain local audiences.

Further information visit the website www.tavonians.org.uk