SALISBURY Playhouse is presenting a new play - Echo’s End, written by local playwright Barney Norris from Wednesday March 29 to Saturday April 15.

Set on the edge of Salisbury Plain in 1915, Echo’s End is a story about two Wiltshire families and the seismic changes which altered their lives and the identity of their county forever.

As the shadow of war falls over the Wiltshire landscape, a young couple finds itself caught up in the turmoil of troubled times. For generations, John and Anna’s families have made a living by working the land. Growing up in back-to-back cottages, everyone expects them to marry. Now, however, with nearly half a million young soldiers pouring into the country, the world seems so much bigger than they had ever imagined and the future feels far from certain.

Barney and director Alice Hamilton both grew up in Salisbury and met through Salisbury Playhouse’s Stage 65 Youth Theatre. They formed their own theatre company whilst studying at Oxford University.

Barney Norris said: “I started my career at Salisbury Playhouse – with its youth theatre, as an extra in shows and behind the bar – so am thrilled to be here now with my play on the main stage. I root my work in Wiltshire and its lives and concerns, which are so rarely represented on stage. Echo’s End is a story about what happened to Wiltshire in the First World War and a moment in history when working people were finally finding a voice.”

The cast includes David Beames, who has recently performed in The Nether (Headlong and Royal Court) and Happy Days (Young Vic), and Robin Soans, whose recent stage credits include Visitors (performed at Salisbury Playhouse as part of the 2014 tour) and Hamlet and As You Like It (Royal Shakespeare Company). They are joined by Tom Byrne, Oliver Hembrough, Katie Moore and Sadie Shimmin (Coronation Street and Mr Selfridge).

Echo’s End is designed by Tom Rogers (Bedroom Farce and Separate Tables at Salisbury Playhouse) with lighting by Howard Hudson (Romeo and Juliet, Kenneth Branagh Theatre Company and Hedda Gabler, Salisbury Playhouse).

Barney’s second novel will be published in January 2018, following wide acclaim for his debut novel Five Rivers Met on a Wooded Plain, which became a Guardian, Daily Mail and Evening Standard Book of the Year.

Echo’s End is supported by Frank and Elizabeth Brenan and runs in the Main House from Wednesday 29 March to Saturday 15 April. For tickets or more information please contact the Ticket Office on 01722 320333 or visit www.salisburyplayhouse.com.