A THEATRE is due to be transformed into an interactive exhibition showing people what life at the Somme would have been like.

Visitors to the Gala Theatre in Durham will be immersed in the sounds and sights of First World War trenches in the production, which is being put on to mark the 100th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme this summer.

The interactive walk-through experience will take the audience on a journey from the recruitment office to the trenches and back to the home front.

Robin Byers, service manager for culture and sport for Durham County Council, said: “It’s somewhere between a play and an exhibition. We wanted it to complement what’s up at Palace Green which is a more formal museum. This is like living history.”

Auditions are underway to cast actors and actresses who will lead audience members through eight scenes to give them a flavour of the experiences soldiers would have had on their way to the Somme.

To stage the exhibition all the seating will be removed from the auditorium and the walk-through set built, transforming the traditional theatre space.

Visitors will follow soldiers though from recruitment and training to a bunker on the frontline, over the top, to a nurses’ station and back to the home front.

The Gala has been working with Studio MB, an Edinburgh exhibition design company, to make sure all the sets are historically accurate and has based its research in the DLI collection in Durham and Imperial War Museum in London.

Mr Byers added: “We’ve never done anything like this at the Gala before. We produce a lot of our own theatre but this is a bit different.

“It’s like the wartime version of Jorvik (in York) or the Edinburgh Dungeons. We want it to be an immersive experience where you can learn about history in a way that’s brought to life and is exciting and engaging.

“We don’t have many walk through experiences in the North of England so it’s a real opportunity for people to enjoy that sort of experience.”

The experience is on from July 21 to August 28 and there will be 19 productions a day, with each one lasting about 40 minutes. Families are welcome, though it may not be suitable for young children.

Tickets are now on sale from the Gala’s box office and from http://www.galadurham.co.uk/