YORK’S "chocolate theatre" will present the premiere of a film made during street performances of the 2013 York community play, Blood + Chocolate, on September 5.

The Joseph Rowntree Theatre, in Haxby Road, will have screenings at 3pm and 7pm that day, for which tickets are on sale at £6 on 01904 639117 or online at jrtheatre.co.uk

The film was shot originally as a digital live stream by the summer show's co-producers, York company Pilot Theatre, who staged the promenade production in a joint initiative with York Theatre Royal and Leeds company Slung Low.

Directed by Slung Low artistic director Alan Lane and Pilot Theatre artistic director Marcus Romer, Mike Kenny's play was set in York in 1914, when the Lord Mayor sent out a chocolate tin, designed and made at the Rowntree's factory, to every soldier from York fighting at the front.

The York playwright told the stories of those who were left behind – both the factory workers and the owners at Rowntree and Terry's – and depicted the soldiers' deeds on the battlefield too.

The film will be shown at the theatre built for York's chocolate workers. “The Joseph Rowntree Theatre opened 21 years after the events of Blood + Chocolate," says Dan Shrimpson, chairman of the theatre trustees. "It was established to provide a community meeting place and leisure venue for the workers of the Rowntree’s factory, many of whom would have lost close family members during World War One.

"We’re delighted that Pilot Theatre has agreed for us to show this film on the big screen as a fundraising event for the theatre, which continues to serve the same charitable purpose for the wider people of York.”

Blood + Chocolate featured a cast of more than 200 community performers who mingled with the audience as they followed the promenade performance around city landmarks. “The audience listened to the actors’ dialogue on headphones, but for this cinematic showing, they can sit back in our comfortable seats and let the cameras take them around the city,” says Dan.

"The live performances played to sell-out audiences and received rave reviews, so our two showings give the actors involved in the show the chance to watch the whole thing from start to finish on the big screen, and those who missed this unique theatrical event to enjoy it in York’s chocolate theatre.”

Pilot Theatre's Marcus Romer says: "We're delighted to be able to share the work of the people of York with the Joseph Rowntree Theatre for its fundraising event. Blood + Chocolate was an extraordinary participatory project and a testament to the power of publicly funded arts activity in the city and how vital this is to protect and maintain.

"As a newly designated UNESCO City of Media Arts, we're proud to have played our part in the rich cultural heritage of York.”