BURTON Amateur Dramatic Society hits the stage on November 19 and November 20 with two diverse and entertaining one act plays.

Staged at Burton-in-Kendal Memorial Hall (7.30pm), The Great Escape is a contemporary play penned by Kirkby Lonsdale playwright, John Peel.

Directed by Ian Stokes, it is set in the garden of a residential home and tells the story of Mary and Elsie, two elderly women ladies who find themselves living (and re-living their lives) in a retirement home under the strict management and beady eye of the fearsome Ms Stollenhausen.

It is fourth of John's plays, which BADS has performed - this one apparently written especially to showcase the talents of Felicity Holloway and Susan Stokes as principal players, with Alyson Yates and Ian Stokes as supporting cast.

BADS stalwart Anne Nichols said that the society enjoyed performing John's work, which was not only well-written but also contained lots of emotional imagery and humour.

She added: “His characters are well-observed and are those to whom both we and our audiences can relate.

"He could be described as being very ‘Alan Bennett’ in his approach to writing plays.”

BADS will be entering John’s play into the Cumbria Drama Festival at Grange-over-Sands next March - the first time the popular am-dram group has trod the festival stage since the late 1990s.

Also on the society’s double bill is Helena's Husband, by Philip Moeller, which is an unusual take on the story of Helen of Troy.

Written in 1915 the comedy was originally performed by the Washington Square Players at the Bandbox Theatre in New York and described as "a satiric burlesque on Helen of Troy, which kept the audience in gales of merriment."

Tickets are available from Burton Village Store.