The diary of a World War 1 veteran from Tapanui is one of the source materials in a vastly different annual performance from the West Otago Theatrical Society this winter.
The director of We Will Remember Them, West Otago Theatrical Society treasurer Mark MacKenzie, of Waipahi, said the two-act production would tell the ''whole war story, rather than focus on any part''.
But the diary of Private Arthur Gordon of Tapanui (#1986.2655 National Army Museum Anzac) would provide much of the content for the cast of roughly 40.
The society chose to focus on World War 1 for its annual production this year but could not find anything suitable, Mr MacKenzie said.
''We decided to compile something ourselves, with songs and poems and material we could find that would suit,'' he said.
''We looked for something to link it all ... and we were put on to Arthur Gordon's diary.
''The more I read in the diary ... the description of what he's written is actually quite full and it tells a large story, some of the things they had to put up with ...
''We will never be able to fully understand what they faced. Without actually being there, you're never going to know.''
A theatrical performance would not capture the smells or the constant state of being wet in the mud.
''We've only really brushed the surface of a lot of it,'' Mr MacKenzie said.
But Mr Gordon's diary also displayed his strong sense of humour and gave a sense of the strength of the human spirit that was required to survive the war.
Mr Gordon enlisted in the NZ Army J Company 20, regimental number 35013, at Featherston on August 24, 1916. He started training there on August 26.
On December 30, 1916, he left New Zealand on RMS Athenic from Waterloo Quay.
By March 3, 1917, Mr Gordon was on the way to Sling Camp, also known as the 4th New Zealand Infantry Brigade Reserve Camp, or Anzac Camp, on the Salisbury Plain in Wiltshire. On October 4, he made it to the Battle of Passchendaele.
His entry on October 5 begins, ''Another day dawns but not a day like yesterday. It all seems like a dream.''
The diary mentions a lot of people from Tapanui he came across during the war.
We Will Remember Them also draws on English children's novelist Michael Morpurgo's Private Peaceful to tell a full story of the war.
In past years, the West Otago Theatrical Society has staged large, well-known musicals, such as Beauty and the Beast, and Cats.
The committee of four that began this project did not know what We Will Remember Them would become, but Mr MacKenzie said he was excited by the project.
''It wasn't my intention to do this at all, to be honest,'' he said.
''It's just growing and growing.''
We Will Remember Them will be staged in the 200-seat theatre at the West Otago Community Centre in Tapanui.
It runs on the evenings of July 2, July 3 and July 4 with a matinee performance on Sunday, July 5.
The family of Arthur Gordon will be offered a preview performance at the end of June.
