IT IS the summer of 1918, and the end of the war sees the young Laurie Lee moving to a new home in a Cotswold village.

Life here is peaceful, slow and governed by the seasons. It is a child's paradise, until, that is, our hero meets Cabbage Stump Charlie, Jones's Goat and the tantalizing temptation of supping cider with Rosie Burdock Laurie Lee's evergreen tale of life between the wars in the Gloucestershire countryside is the story of a young boy awakening to the sights and sounds of a world that is bursting with life, love and self-discovery.

In an extract from his last radio interview, Laurie Lee said: "When I wrote it, I was writing it in order to set down things I remembered with pleasure about our small, local life in Slad.

"But I remember towards the end thinking 'why am I writing this in a world which is so threatened by the dark clouds and threats of cosmic destruction?' This is only a small story, it can only interest my family and a few neighbours. What happened was unpredictable but it also reminded many readers of their beginnings and their family recollections."

Regular summer visitors to Dorset, Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, are performing Cider With Rosie at just two Artsreach venues - Frampton Village Hall and the Sturminster Newton Exchange - a well as at Shaftesbury Arts Centre.

The late playwright Nick Darke is especially well known for his close collaborations with RSC, the National Theatre and Kneehigh, and here his dramatic and humorous stage adaptation of Laurie Lee's gorgeous story brings the heartwarming tale to life.

Showcasing emerging talent from the very place that many well-loved actors such as Jeremy Irons, Daniel Day-Lewis and Miranda Richardson trained, make sure you keep your eyes peeled for the nation's future Oscar-winners!

You can catch this bucolically blissful production at Frampton Village Hall on Thursday, May 22, at 7.30pm (call 01300 320607 for tickets and full details), at Shaftesbury Arts centre on Friday, May 23, (call 01747 854321) and at the Sturminster Newton Exchange on Wednesday, June 25, (call 01258 475137). All the shows start at 7.30pm.