THE life and works of Rudyard Kipling, the iconic poet who wrote the epitaph on the graves of thousands of First World War dead, is told in a new stage play coming to Marlborough.

An Evening with Rudyard Kipling tells the story of the writer’s life with readings from his poetry and prose, accompanied by music.

The show was written by Phillip Geddes, a former TV producer and presenter, and stars top actors Robert Hardy, famous for playing Churchill in The Wilderness Years and vet Siegfried Hardy in All Creatures Great and Small, Sarah Parish and James Murray. The show will premier at The Memorial Hall, Marlborough College, on Saturday, November 28 at 7.30pm.

While making a film last year, recording the experiences of those who served in the First World War, Mr Geddes was struck by the resonance of many of the words he found on the commemorative masonry of the war. To his surprise nearly all the words were written by Rudyard Kipling.

Mr Geddes said: “I was brought up on Kipling – poems like If and Recessional, the Jungle Books and of course, Kim, all of which have helped form our modern language.

"When I realised it was Kipling who composed the epitaph on the graves of the unknown dead – the simple but moving words 'A soldier of the Great War known unto God' I felt it was high time someone wrote a show on Kipling. So I did just that.”

All proceeds from the show, which features music from the band Head North, will be donated to The Not Forgotten Association which was founded after the Great War to support the wounded. The charity provides entertainment, leisure and recreation for the serving wounded, injured or sick and for ex-servicemen and women with disabilities.

Tickets cost £15 with a booking fee of £1.67 and are available from www.eventbrite.co.uk and searching An Evening with Rudyard Kipling.