A DESPERATE shortage of male cast members forced Tavistock Tavonians out on the streets this week in an attempt to recruit new blood for their forthcoming production of ?Oh! What A Lovely War?.

Michelle Buncle, Alison Wright and Ian Massey donned their Great War costumes in Bedford Square to appeal for budding talent with posters echoing that famous recruitment campaign of the first world war: ?Your Country Needs You?.

Some acting or singing ability is preferred but enthusiasm is equally important, so if you have longed for an opportunity to tread the boards this could be it!

?It?s a fabulous musical with a lot of the great favourites like ?Keep the Home Fires Burning?, ?Oh! What a Lovely War? and ?Hush Here Comes a Wizzbang,? said Michelle.

?It will be quite an impressive production and a great one to be involved with. It is light-hearted but there is a very serious anti-war message and there will be footage from world war one projected onto a screen forming a background to the acting.?

All the parts are small ones and the singing is not operatic: ?It is the kind of singing that you hear from fans at a rugby or football match so an operatic voice is not what we are looking for,? said Tavonian Alison Wright.

?We need people to play soldiers but it is always harder to get men to join amateur dramatics than it is women. We hope by getting out on the streets it will attract people?s attention.

The play, first performed in 1964 in London, is being staged to coincide with the 90th anniversary of the beginning of the first world war and has a cast of around 20, large by Tavonian standards.

The company stages two productions a year and performs to sell-out audiences at the Wharf but it has been more than ten years since it put on a musical play.

?It should be a really interesting production and thought provoking for the cast and the audience,? added Alison. ?We are well aware of the history and all the tragedy of the war and hope that the performance will strike the right balance.?

The Tavonians plan to start rehearsals in early September on Monday and Thursday nights for performance in late November.

To enlist phone 01822 613343 as soon as possible.