Stoke-on-Trent's origin story will be reimagined as a fantasy adventure in a one-off production by a new local village theatre group. 

Penkhull Theatre Group, made up of members from the village and across the city, will be staging a 'tongue in cheek' retelling of the history of the six towns featuring witches, ogres and plenty of audience participation. 

'Six Towns', which will be performed at Penkhull Village Hall on Saturday 2 May, was written by local writer Andrew Perry and is the first of his full length plays to be staged. 

He said: "The play is a family-friendly fantasy adventure that nods in the direction of panto. 

"We call it the 'true story' of how our beautiful city came to be." 

In the play, two stars are brought to earth and tasked by a witch to wander six miles through a forest. 

Throughout their walk, they are faced with a variety of fantastical obstacles and characters from the city's history. 

Andrew added: "It's a bit of an off-beat story. I think it'll be a good night out." 

'Six Towns' is the group's first full-length play, but many members have been previously involved in the Penkhull Mystery Plays – annual outdoor performances that take place on the village green. 

The group was founded following the success of a shorter version of 'Six Towns' which was staged at last summer's event. 

Charles Pantin, actor and chair of Penkhull Theatre Group, said: "We performed a short version of this play last summer and people liked it so much that we decided to form a theatre group." 

As well as the positive response from the audience, Charles also explained that they were motivated by the actors' enthusiasm to work together on a larger project. 

Charles said: "It is something where you can get together and have a common interest, which often means you all get along well. 

"Everyone is aiming for the same outcome, like a good performance on the 2 May." 

He added: "I know we're amateurs, but we will certainly entertain them one way or the other." 

Community members, both with and without experience of acting and set design, are now meeting weekly to rehearse, create props, and sew costumes ahead of the performance. 

Penkhull resident Kevin Cox, who has never acted before, is preparing to play several roles including the famous local author Arnold Bennett. 

Kevin explained how he has been supported by the director, Karen Fenton, and the rest of the cast: "I've never acted before but we've got a good director showing us what to do." 

He added: "It gets everybody together, and everybody supports one another. We've got a really good community in Penkhull." 

Other members of the group, who focus on prop and costume making, explained how community theatre is not just for people interested in treading the boards. 

Much of the set and many of the costumes have been hand-made by members of the group who have had to be creative with the limited resources available to them. 

The group used recycled materials, such as cardboard boxes to make bookshelves, and sourced many other materials, as well as valuable advice, from Stoke-on-Trent-based Scrap Shack. 

Committee member and artist, Christine Mallaband-Brown, who has Parkinson's disease, described how the community group enables her to continue doing what she loves. 

She said: "It gives me an opportunity to still use my art. Because of the Parkinson's disease I've become more limited in my movements, but I'm determined to keep going.   

"I don't want to sit at home watching television." 

Christine celebrated the ability of a theatre group to bring together different people. She added: "It helps the community build together. 

"It's enjoyment, it's enthusiasm, it's doing something different to what you would do normally."  

Another prop and set maker, Alison, who is also a member of the local choir, added: "I've moved to the area few years ago. I haven't lived here for a long time so it was just a nice way of getting involved and trying things out really. 

"There's a lot that goes on in Penkhull, it's quite an active place." 

With the show less than one month away, the group is already looking to the future. 

Julie Oxberry, who first had the idea to create the group, explained that they want to expand the company and continue producing plays. 

A committee has now been formed, and the group is hoping to apply for funding to support future projects. 

Julie said: "One of our aims is to take our performances out into the community, just like the Mystery Plays.  

 "We would like to visit nursing homes, retirement villages and places with people who want to go to the theatre but can't afford to." 

She added: "I like going to the theatre but at times it just gets too expensive, which I think is the same for lots of people. 

"Community theatre can be more inclusive as well, and sometimes a smaller audience is better than a big audience. They can get more involved." 

Six Towns will be performed at Penkhull Village Hall at 7:30pm on Saturday 2 May. 

Tickets, which cost £10 for adults and £5 for under 11s, are available to purchase at Penkhull Village Hall and there is a ticket hotline at 07719936613. 

The Penkhull Mystery Plays will also return to the village this year on Saturday 4 July.