YOUNG performers are hoping to leave the audience shell-shocked with their production of an anti-war classic.

Their stage will be transformed into the bloody battlefields of the Western Front, where thousands of British troops died in the First World War.

Oh, What a Lovely War is one of the most ambitious performances ever to be staged at Northallerton College.

A total of 50 students, aged 14 to 18, have been working on the musical production since Easter.

Drama tutor Pam Bayston said: "The students asked to do it after enjoying a workshop with the British Legion.

"They were appalled but also enthralled by stories of 22,000 men dying to take just 800 yards of ground - that's a man per inch of territory - and the fact that many of the soldiers were actually younger than some of them.

"But they loved all the songs of the era and the production also provided the ideal opportunity for the Year 13 students to make the costumes, therefore completing some of their AVCE performing arts course work."

The curtain will go up for the show at 7.30pm on Monday and the show will continue its run until until November 26.

Tickets cost £5 and are available from the school office on (01609) 773340.