A NEW production exploring the stories of the brave men involved in the Artic Convoys during the Second World War is docking in Bury next week.

Following their hugely successful touring productions of Plastic Figurines and Chip Shop Chips, Manchester-based theatre company Box of Tricks is set to visit The Met on Tuesday and Wednesday with the critically-acclaimed play with songs, Narvik, by award-winning playwright Lizzie Nunnery.

Inspired by tales from naval veterans, and stories of her grandfather’s time in the Navy, Lizzie’s latest play brings to life a powerful story of love, guilt, heroism and betrayal.

She said: “My grandfather was 17 when he went to war and died at 91.

“I was inspired to write by my grandfather’s stories of his time in war where he was in the Arctic convoy. He told me quite a few stories, more and more in the last year of his life, including where he sailed, the ships he sailed in and I learned a lot more about him because of it.

“They were quite dramatic stories with their good times and bad times.

“This is a fictional work inspired by his stories and lots of other documented accounts.”

Set in World War II, it tells the story of a Liverpudlian man and a Norwegian woman pulled together and torn apart by war as the events of one summer cause ripples across an ocean of time.

Lizzie brings together her skills as a writer and singer/songwriter to create a play where music and words meet with a patchwork of memory and dream, truth and fantasy.

The cast features Joe Shipman, Lucas Smith and Nina Yndis in a production directed by Box of Tricks’ joint artistic director and co-founder Hannah Tyrrell-Pinder alongside designer Katie Scott.

It features original music and songs by Vidar Norheim, Martin Heslop and Lizzie.

She adds: “Hannah and I did a lot a lot of research, it has been a really collaborative piece from the start - bringing the ocean and the Arctic to the stage.

“It is a really exciting piece of theatrical work.

" I’m so proud of everyone in it.

“The tour has been brilliant, we’ve had big audience with almost everywhere sold out and great reviews, which is amazing.

“I can’t wait for the Bury Met. I have performed there as a folk singer many times and have had lots of support. It’s lovely to bring the show there, there’s something very lovely about the place.”

Lizzie’s first theatre play Intemperance was awarded five stars by The Guardian and shortlisted for the Meyer-Whitworth Award.

In 2017 she will have theatre work produced by Liverpool Everyman, Royal Exchange Theatre, Box of Tricks and NT Connections.

She has also written extensively for BBC radio and is regular at The Met in her role as a singer and songwriter.

Tickets for Narvik, which starts at 8pm on both days, are available from the box office on 0161 7612216 or at themet.biz.