THE CRITICALLY acclaimed The Wipers Times will stop off in Malvern for a week in September as part of its latest UK tour.
Ian Hislop and Nick Newman’s production – a stage adaptation of their award-winning BBC film – tells the true and extraordinary story of the satirical newspaper created in the mud and mayhem of the Somme, interspersed with comic sketches and spoofs from the vivid imagination of those on the front line.
In a bombed out building during the First World War in the Belgian town of Ypres – mispronounced Wipers by British soldiers – two officers discover a printing press and create a newspaper for the troops.
Far from being a somber journal about life in the trenches they produced a resolutely cheerful, subversive and very funny newspaper designed to lift the spirits of the men on the frontline.
Defying enemy bombardment, gas attacks and the disapproval of many of the top Brass, The Wipers Times rolled off the press for two years and was an extraordinary tribute to the resilience of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity.
The production originally launched 100 years after the Battle of the Somme and publication of The Wipers Times.
This current run coincides with the commemoration of the end of the First World War .
The Wipers Times will be on stage at Malvern Theatres from Monday, September 17 to Saturday, September 22.
Call 01684 892277 or visit www.malvern-theatres.co.uk to book tickets.
