A play set against the backdrop of the First World War will be performed at Ben Rhydding’s Wheatley Arms by the Mikron Theatre Company on April 29.

The new project for Mikron marks the centenary of the start of the First World War by telling the little-known story of female impresario Lena Ashwell.

Troupers is set in 1914, and British entertainment is on its uppers.

A loss of appetite for frivolous pleasures and a dearth of young men finds actor-manager Lena Ashwell with a theatre but no audience.

A passionate advocate of ‘art for all’ and determined to do her bit, she assembles a motley bunch of ‘turns’ and books a tour with a difference. Her Troupers won’t tread the boards of Old Blighty, but the muddy, bloody fields of France.

A little-told story of the Great War, Troupers brings to life the amazingly audacious Concerts At The Front, a hitherto unsung war effort that’s full of guts, gusto and greasepaint.

Fans of Mikron know that the company’s specialty is in telling the story of the little-known person caught up in big events.

Lena Ashwell was a woman who fought for the arts, at a time of economic uncertainty when theatre was seen as a frivolous luxury. The telling of her story is, sadly, relevant in 2014.

Mikron’s artistic director Marianne McNamara, who directs Troupers, said: “By telling Lena Ashwell’s story we are telling the story of the place that the arts had, and still have, in a struggling society.

“I’m also aware that there will be a lot of companies marking this important centenary. We are really interested in having a central character who is female, at a point in history which is often told from a male perspective, and a story about those who entertain and enrich the lives of our servicemen and women and how that started out.”

Troupers will tour nationally from April until October. The performance at the Wheatley Arms, Wheatley Lane, will start at 7.30pm.

Tickets are £25 including a two-course supper and coffee. Booking is essential, from wheatleyarms.co.uk, or call (01943) 816496.