Now following on from their success last year with 'Allo 'Allo, The Lancaster Footlights will bring Captain Mainwaring, Pike and Corporal Jones to the Grand Theatre stage – to mark the 40th anniversary of the sitcom.

Dad's Army was a long running British comedy series by the BBC, written by Jimmy Perry and David Croft, also responsible for Hi-De-Hi, Allo Allo, and It Ain't Half Hot Mum. Perry came up with the idea when it struck him people had forgotten the role that the Home Guard played in the Second World War.

The sit-com followed the farcical exploits of the Walmington-on-Sea platoon, led by the pompous bank manager Captain Mainwaring, who declared himself commanding officer, and gathered together a loyal but incompetent platoon of local men to defend the town against invasion.

The series ran for 80 episodes in total for the BBC and was then featured as a film and followed by a stage show.

The series deals with seven main characters who live within the small seaside town on the Kent coast. Most are old campaigners from the First World War, one is under conscription age, another a 'draft dodger'.

Lancaster Footlights has created a hilarious treat for the whole family, with subtle humour, especially in the relationship between Mainwaring and Sergeant Wilson, as opposed to the slapstick humour of Corporal Jones.

Performances run from Tuesday (April 22) to Saturday, April 28 at 7.30pm. Tickets cost £8 (£7 concessions, £6 first night) available from the box office on 01524 64695.