Pick Me Up Theatre to stage Michael Morpurgo's Private Peaceful in York

Both will be staged at the John Cooper Studio Theatre, 41 Monkgate, the first from March 14 to 18, the second, the week after, from March 22 to 26.

Private Peaceful tells the story of a young First World War soldier as he recalls his childhood memories while waiting for dawn on the Western Front. George Stagnell plays Private Tommo Peaceful – and everyone he meets in his life – in this poignant, yet uplifting one-man play adapted from Morpurgo's novel by Simon Reade.

"It's my first one-hander; I've always been part of a fairly large cast before," says George, whose past Pick Me Up roles include Dakin in Alan Bennett's The History Boys and Leon Czolgosz in Stephen Sondheim's Assassins. "It's very exciting to be doing this play: rehearsing it comes in waves of excitement and then dips of nerves."

What an opportunity the role is for one of York's outstanding young acting talents. "Robert Readman, Pick Me Up's artistic director, said to me last May/June that 'there's a one-man version of Private Peaceful and you should think of doing it'," says George. "I bought it that day, read it that night and thought it was a fantastic piece of writing. I then read the novel a week after everything was confirmed, and it's been an honour to do the play."

Michael Morpurgo's inspiration for the story of Private Peaceful came from a visit to Ypres during a conference for children's writers and illustrators. He had been invited after the publication of War Horse, his novel spawned the remarkable National Theatre stage production.

The conference was held in the war museum In Flanders Fields, where Morpurgo was intrigued by a typed letter he saw framed on a wall. The letter was from an army captain to the mother of a soldier, informing her in a few short lines that her son had been shot at dawn for cowardice.

George Stagnell on his research for playing Tommo: "I wanted to be able to understand what it was like to be in the trenches"

At that moment Morpurgo imagined the grief and pain of that mother and knew he wanted to know more about the soldiers who had been executed. He had to tell the story of one of them, and the result was Private Peaceful, a story that portrays both the horrors of war and the joyfulness of life.

In 2006, three years after Private Peaceful was published, 306 men shot at dawn for cowardice or desertion, were granted posthumous pardons. Every production of Morpurgo's play now serves as a memorial to those men.

"It's set on the night before Tommo [Private Peaceful] is to be shot for cowardice, when he re-lives his short life in a patchwork of memories," says George. "At this point, he wasn't even 18 yet. He went to the Front at 16, lying about his age, when his brother Charlie, who was three years older, was already out there.

"But because the play is a re-telling of his life, it's not as depressing as it could be, as the first half is a coming-of-age story in Devon that will make people smile, but I'm not going to lie by saying there isn't great sadness in the story too."

George's research has been thorough for a role that has required him to rehearse the 42 pages of text three times a week under the direction of Mark Hird. "I've watched a couple of documentaries, and I've bought a couple of books of war poetry and real-life accounts, and done some research on love too (as Tommo falls in love with Molly)," he says. "I wanted to be able to understand what it was like to be in the trenches, as you have to try to find the emotions he would be feeling.

"The story takes you through Tommo's life, his emotions, and you find out why things are the way they are for him. One evening in his company in the theatre and I think you will come to understand what he was going through."

The Pick Me Up spring will continue with Goodnight Mister Tom, Michelle Magorian’s wonderfully uplifting tale, brought to life in a magical stage adaptation by David Wood. Set during the build-up to the Second World War, it follows the adventures of young William Beech when he is evacuated to the idyllic English countryside. There he forges a remarkable and heart-warming friendship with an elderly recluse, Tom Oakley.

Tom will be played by Craig Kirby, whose past Pick Me Up roles include Judge Turpin in Sweeney Todd and Mr Briggs in Our Day Out; William will be played by Jack Hambleton and his friend Zac by Zac Stewart, both Pick Me newcomers.

Tickets for both productions can be booked online at pickmeuptheatre.com