A HARD-HITTING historical drama is being taken on the road this week and will be performed in towns and villages throughout West Dorset The Voyage was written by Lee Stroud and is being staged by Off the Wall Theatre, a small group of actors who took part in last year's Dorchester Community Play.

Set in London in 1789, wealthy heiress Megan West has been sentenced to transportation for life for the murder of her husband.

She is taken to Newgate Prison to await passage on HMS London.

While imprisoned she forms a friendship with her gaoler. After promising him money, he allows her to escape with the aid of family servant Emily Richmond and they make their way to Southampton to wait for the contact who will secure Meg's freedom.

The contact is one John Chapman, who promises to help her. But he has another agenda and soon Megan is back in chains, waiting for her voyage to begin.

"I started off calling it Transportation, but the more I thought about it the more I wanted to change the title," explained Lee Stroud, who also plays the role of Megan West.

"I thought Transportation might throw people off because it is not exactly what the play is about. The Voyage was the simpler option."

She added: "It's not just about the ship and the people on her.

"It is the journey of their lives and the twists and turns that make up their lives."

The play took Lee two weeks to write and she then tweaked' it until she was happy with the result. The cast also includes Lindsey Maton, John Ramsden, Dave Lucas and Dee Thorne, who Lee has nothing but praise for.

"I keep smiling as I watch them performing," she says.

"I was so looking forward to watching it take form and it was worth the wait to see it come off the page."

As well as working with theatre groups throughout the UK, Lee also studied drama in America.

Her fascination with the Salem Witch Trials led to a meeting with Arthur Miller, the writer of allegorical play The Crucible, which is a sly indictment of the McCarthy witch hunt against those with suspected communist sympathies.

"Arthur Miller, oh man, he was fascinating," says Lee. "Although we didn't talk about Marilyn (Monroe, Miller's former wife)."

Now The Voyage is ready, Off the Wall are taking it on an eight-date tour of West Dorset, starting tomorrow night.

Lee said: "There are a lot of people out there, in the villages, who love good drama but who are not able to get to Dorchester or Weymouth to see it.

"I thought it would be a good thing to book halls in the area and take the show out.

"Good quality theatre is lacking and we need to get out there and not just to the same old stuff.

"We are aiming to do something different - to give people the choice of what they can see."

The tour of The Voyage starts on Thursday, June 5 in Cerne Abbas village hall before moving on to Burton Bradstock the next day and Dorchester Arts Centre on Saturday, June 7.

The Voyage then sails to Wareham United Reform Church on Monday, June 9, Drax Hall in Bere Regis the following day and St John's church hall on Portland on Wednesday, June 11.

The final two venues are Abbotsbury village hall on Thursday and Friday, June 12 ands 13 and Park Community Centre, Weymouth on Saturday, June 14.

All performances start at 7.30pm and tickets cost £5 from each venue in advance or at the door, from Lee on 01305 259308 and from Words Etcetera in Cornhill, Dorchester.