Warkworth-based acting group Far Horizon Voices will perform two new pieces to mark Remembrance Day on Thursday and Friday, November 6 and 7 at Warkworth Memorial Hall.

Hauxley Nature Reserve's poet in residence Paul Mein's 'Voices From The Front' and local playwright Dave Stockwin's 'Shot At Dawn' will form a double bill which will also feature songs from acclaimed folk artiste Peter Burnham.

The script-read performances open with 'Shot At Dawn' which focuses on the fates of over 300 British soldiers who were executed by firing squad during WW1 having been found guilty of various military offences including cowardice and desertion. Many of these men would now be diagnosed as having been suffering from shell shock or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The piece is a powerful and moving narrative made up of three linked monologues delivered by a mother, a commanding officer and a soldier, highlighting their roles and feelings about one tragic case.

The second half of the show features Paul's collection of poems and interlinking narratives - 'Voices From The Front' - which reflect daily life from the beauty of an English summer the days before the outbreak of war in 1914, the horrors on the battlefields of Europe and the hardship and despair suffered by families of those killed in action before the Armistice was signed in November 1918 to end the war that claimed an estimated 30 million lives worldwide. There is a strong North East element in Paul's work as he features lives of local people who were required to continue in essential industrial and agricultural work with women taking on many jobs formerly the sole preserve of men.

Tickets for the shows, which begin at 7.3pm. cost £10 and will be available at N & F Young, Amble, Warkworth Post Office and Store, [email protected] or on the door on the night. Doors open at 7pm and a licensed bar will be available.

A donation to the Help For Heroes charity will be made made from the proceeds of the performances.