AN unlikely friendship forged during the brutality and heroism of the Spanish Civil War will be brought to life on stage.

Dare Devil Rides To Jarama is a moving account of two ordinary people making an extraordinary choice to leave their family and livelihoods to join the fight against Fascism.

The Townsend Productions show tells the story of Clem Beckett, an Oldham-born blacksmith who became a speedway driver and fairground Wall Of Death rider during the Great Depression, and his friendship with Christopher Caudwell, a literary critic, poet and aeronautical expert.

The pair joined the International Brigades to fight General Franco’s military rebellion and became friends as members of the British Battalion's machine-gun company, dying alongside each other at the Battle of Jarama in 1937, defending an attack on Suicide Hill.

The play, written by Neil Gore and directed by Louise Townsend, captures the humour, raw passion and emotion produced by the idealism of these men through immersive storytelling, stirring song, poetry, and movement.

It will be performed at the Durham Miners’ Hall at Redhills on Wednesday, March 8 at 7.30pm and features just two actors performing multiple roles, with music of the period arranged by acclaimed folk musician John Kirkpatrick.

Playwright Neil Gore, who appears as Caudwell alongside David Heywood as Beckett, said “It is an important examination of the fascinating and brilliant life of Clem Beckett who achieved so much in such a short time as a top speedway rider and a rider in the Wall of Death around Europe.”