MIKRON Theatre Company are marking the centenary of the founding of the WI in Britain by joining forces with the National Federation of Women's Institutes to present Raising Agents.

This new touring show by the Marsden company will visit Clements Hall, Nunthorpe Road, York on Sunday, September 20, at 4pm with its story of the down-at-heel Bunnington WI branch.

Dwindling membership means they can barely afford the hall, let alone a decent speaker, so when PR guru Ange becomes a member, the women are glad of new blood, at least initially. The milk of WI kindness begins to sour, however, when she re-brands them the Bunnington Bunnies and brings the branch into disrepute through her yarn-bombing direct action.

The members are hopping mad at the name change, and with stakes higher than a five-tiered cake stand, a battle ensues for the very soul of Bunnington, perhaps the WI itself.

On the threshold of one century turning into the next, this tale of hobbyists and lobbyists asks how much we should know our past or how much we should let go of it.

"Above all else, like the WI itself, Raising Agents is a story of friendship," says writer Maeve Larkin, whose script is her fourth for Mikron. Her past works for the West Yorkshire company include Can You Keep A Secret?, an account of the Luddite uprising through the eyes of a mill owner's daughter, and Troupers, the little-known story of Lena Ashwell. Lena was the remarkable woman responsible for bringing entertainment to the troops on the frontline for the first time in the First World War.

Maeve is skilled at bringing the human story to the sweep of history and is delighted to have written about the Women's Institute. "I loved extracting the drama from such a rich and energetic history of a movement that just keeps evolving," she says.

Like all Mikron shows, Raising Agents promises wit and wisdom, big characters and small details. The show has a strong musical element too, on this occasion composed by the female duo O'Hooley and Tidow, whose latest album, The Hum, prompted their nomination for best duo in this year's BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards.

Mikron have been touring nationwide this summer on their vintage narrowboat, Tyseley, and are back on the road this autumn. Already this year, they have presented One Of Each, a tale of something fishy going on in the world of fish and chips, at the Scarcroft Allotments in York.

Tickets for the September 20 show are on sale at £12, concessions £10, families £30 (for two adults, up to three children), on 07974 867301, by emailing willyh@phonecoop.coop or in person from Pexton’s Hardware in Bishopthorpe Road.