GOODNIGHT Mister Tom – one of the country’s most loved novels – is making the transition to the Black Country stage.

Stourbridge Theatre Company will be one of the first to perform the play in the region after its recent release for amateur production.

The group, which contains a number of new members, will perform at Stourbridge Town Hall between Thursday, September 6, and Saturday, September 8, with curtain up at 7.30pm each evening.

Michelle Magorian’s novel follows sad young William Beech as he is evacuated at the start of the Second World War to the English countryside, building a remarkable and moving friendship with the elderly recluse Tom Oakley.

Though initially distant, the reclusive and bad-tempered ‘Mister Tom’ – as William christens his new guardian – is touched after discovering William's home-life and treats him with kindness and understanding, helping to educate him.

Although the growing bond between William and Tom is threatened when William's mother requests that the boy returns to her in the city.

In 1998, the novel was adapted by Carlton Television and featured the well-known actor John Thaw in the title role as Mister Tom.

Tickets for the Stourbridge Theatre Company production cost £10 (concessions £8) and are available online from www.stourbridgetheatre.co.uk, as well as from The French Deli, in Coventry Street, or by calling 0333 666 3366.