The award-winning Phoenix Youth Group are shortly due to present a double bill of creative masterpieces - performing not one play..... but two in order to showcase all of the talents within the group.

By putting on two productions this season all its members will be able to shine and the maximum number of children will be able to show off their talent.

The group has 28 performers with ages ranging from eight to 18, and they're hoping that the local community will support both of the shows, pricing tickets competitively in the hope that people will dig deep into their pockets and came to see both of the shows as they are being performed on alternate nights at the theatre.

The two classic works they've chosen complement each other perfectly and both have a wartime setting. First is the much-loved The Railway Children, based on the original novel by E Nesbit and adapted for the stage by Mike Kenny. The story tells of three children and their mother as they embark on a new life in the country and discover the delights of the railway along the way.The second play is Goodnight Mister Tom

by David Wood, adapted from the novel by Michelle Magorian - a sensitive and moving piece that tells how a special bond forms between a young boy and his carer in a time of war and how this bond lasts a lifetime and brings new hope for both of them.

The Railway Children will be on stage on October 12, 14 and 16, while Goodnight Mister Tom can be seen on October 13, 15 and 17.

Tickets, £8.50, are available from the box office at Rossiter Books on 01989 564464 or online at www.phoenix-theatre.org.uk.