COLWALL Players have received a very special endorsement from renowned dramatist Alan Ayckbourn as they prepare to stage his play Improbable Fiction

The famous playwright has loaned the company some props from the very first production of the comedy in Scarborough back in 2005.

Andrew Howie, the play's director, said: "Alice Towler used to work as stage manager or stage director at Alan Ayckbourn's theatre in Scarborough for some years. She's retired now but she's well know in amateur theatre in the Malvern area."

The play centres on members of a writer's circle, all of whom are blocked on their latest projects. Jess writes bodice rippers, Grace creates children’s stories, Vivvi has completed her sixth crime novel, Clem is a sci-fi fanatic and Brevis is adapting The Pilgrim’s Progress into a musical.

Despite the encouragement of the genial chairman, Arnold, each writer has reached an impasse, and then, with a dramatic clap of thunder, all the various fictions spring startlingly to life.

The play zigzags from Victorian melodrama, to 1930s detective cliff hanger, to extreme science fiction fantasy as Alan Ayckbourn lets his imagination run riot.

The props that the players have been loaned include a specially-made sideboard and stands with lights.

The play was first performed in 2005 in Scarborough as part of the 50th anniversary of Ayckbourn’s beloved Stephen Joseph theatre.

Improbable Fiction will be performed in the village hall, Mill Lane, from Monday to Sunday, October 23 to 29, at 7.30pm. Tickets are on sale at John Goodwin’s Colwall office on 01684 540300.