MIKRON Theatre's second new show of 2014, Troupers, commemorates frontline entertainment in the First World War at Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road, York, on Sunday at 4pm.

The year is 1914 and British entertainment is down 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, impresario Lena assembles a motley bunch of turns and books a tour with a difference. Her Troupers will not tread the boards of Old Blighty, but the muddy, bloody fields of France.

In this little-told story of the Great War;, written by Maeve Larkin, Troupers brings to life the audacious Concerts At The Front; a hitherto unsung war effort that is full of guts, gusto and greasepaint.

"Troupers is an exciting project for Mikron," says artistic director Marianne McNamara, who directs the Marsden company's touring production. "Firstly, it marks the centenary of the First World War by telling the little-known story of female impresario, Lena Ashwell, and fans of Mikron will know that the company’s speciality is telling the story of the little-known person caught up in big events.

"Secondly, 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."

Marianne warms to her theme. "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," she says.

"I’m also aware that there will be a lot of companies marking this important centenary; we're 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 service men and women and how that started out.”

Mikron have been touring Troupers nationally since April on their 43rd tour, travelling throughout England on their vintage narrowboat, Tyseley, to perform both Troupers and Till The Cows Come Home. In the summer months, the company travels along canals and rivers and moors up at canal-side venues, playing pubs, village halls, marinas and dry docks. The cast of four unpack set, props, costumes, musical instruments and lights and as the audience gather, conjure up a variety of characters, stories and songs.

Earlier this year, Mikron presented Deborah McAndrew's Till The Cows Come Home, a quest to make the perfect ice-cream, at the Scarcroft Allotments in Scarcroft Road in June. Now the cast of actor-musicians Esther-Grace Button, Nicholas Coutu-Langmead, Jill Myers and York actor John Holt Roberts return with Troupers.

Tickets cost £11, concessions £9, or £32 for a family ticket for two adults and up to three children on 07974 867301, via email to willyh@phonecoop.coop or from Pexton’s Hardware store in Bishopthorpe Road.