NORTH Tawton’s links with the late Poet Laureate Ted Hughes will be commemorated next week when local thespians stage The Iron Man.

Actors of North Tawton (ANTS) will stage an adaptation of Hughes’ children’s story about a metal giant striding the countryside, first published back in 1968. The production runs from Wednesday to Saturday next week in North Tawton Town Hall.

The play has been commissioned by Ted Hughes’ widow Carol, who lives in the town, and is adapted and directed by Nigel Davies from ANTS.

Nigel said: ‘Carol approached us because it is 20 years since Ted passed away and 50 years since The Iron Man was published so she thought it would be nice to do something.

‘She’s been very involved in it — committed and supportive and seems happy with what we are doing. She will be coming along to the productions.’

The story is a science fiction yarn which sees the giant striding across the countryside, feeding on farm machinery to the wrath of the local farmers. He befriends a local boy, Hogarth, and together they fight off a massive threat from outer space called a Space-Bat-Angel-Dragon, a puppet made by talented North Tawton puppeteer Wendy Dacre.

The production also features excerpts from an audio recording of Ted Hughes himself reading The Iron Man.

The play runs from Wednesday to Saturday, July 25 to 28, with performances at 7.30pm each evening and a Saturday matinee at 2.30pm.

• Pictured is John Palmer as the newsreader, surrounded by other members of the cast of The Iron Man in the Actors of North Tawton production. Picture by James Bird