PETERSFIELD Youth Theatre packs a punch with its first show of the 2015 autumn season.

The First World War is the subject for a satirical musical, Oh! What A Lovely War.

Gerry Raffles and Joan Littlewood developed the show in the 1960s at the Theatre Workshop, after Raffles heard a radio broadcast combining anecdotes, facts, songs of the time and statistics about the war.

Jane Ace, from Petersfield Youth Theatre, said: “Imagine, 36,000 men – over double the population of Petersfield – all killed in one battle, Arras.

“It’s equally hard for us today to appreciate the impact Oh! What A Lovely War had on its London audiences in 1963. The show combined humour, political satire and song, and had a powerful effect.”

Littlewood apparently wanted audiences to leave the theatre laughing at the “vulgarity of war”.

Many of Field Marshal Haig’s words which are heard in the show are drawn from his own diaries, but they are used in the production for a new generation to question and sweep aside the values of the “old guard”.

Featuring many of the songs of the war, including Keep the Home Fires Burning, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary, and Pack up Your Troubles in your Old Kit-Bag, this show is set to be a challenging one for the members of the youth theatre.

At the start of rehearsals, director Chris Hollis produced a list of questions about the war and asked each of the cast to research one area.

Areas covered included conditions in the trenches, ranks and structure of the Army, effects of the war on the home front, deaths and casualties, nurses, their role and training and how often and how reliable was the information and news arriving from the front.

Oh! What a Lovely War will be performed on Monday, September 14 at 7.30pm, Tuesday, September 15 at 7.30pm, Wednesday, September 16 at 7.30pm, and Thursday, September 17 at 7.30pm, all at the Festival Hall, Petersfield.

Tickets are on sale at One Tree Books, Lavant Street, Petersfield, call 01730 261199 or online at www.ticketsource.co.uk

See www.pyt.org.uk for more information about Petersfield Youth Theatre.