Private Peaceful is a First World War novel penned by children's author Michael Morpurgo - the brains behind War Horse. SIBA MATTI speaks to actor Mark Quarterly, who portrays dozens of characters in an adaptation for the stage

THE stage version of War Horse, an emotionally charged story about the First World War through the eyes of a steed, has proved to be a galloping success, even inspiring a Hollywood blockbuster, directed by Stephen Spielberg and due for release in September.

Hot on its hooves, a one-man theatre adaptation of Private Peaceful, by the same author, third Children's Laureate Michael Morpurgo, also hopes to set the world alight.

The 100th tome by Morpurgo, which won the 2005 Blue Peter Book of the Year award, recounts the life of Private Tommo Peaceful, a young soldier awaiting a firing squad at dawn.

The inspiration for the book came from the author's visit to Ypres, where he was shocked to discover how many young soldiers were court martialled and shot for cowardice during the First World War.

Fresh from sell-out runs in London's West End and at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the show is now on the road and will be in Hayes next week.

Mark Quarterly, 25, who takes centre stage, said: "It's a fascinating tale, all about Private Tommo telling his life story from the trenches.

"He has had an extraordinary existence, but in other ways it has been very ordinary - he is just a normal lad from rural Devon who has found himself in the middle of a war zone.

"He remembers his childhood, his first days at school, meeting Molly the love of his life, the accident in a forest that killed his father, and the battles and injustices of conflict which brought him to the front line."

Although he appears alone on stage, Mark is taking on the formidable challenge of representing about 40 characters.

"It is a one-man show, but there is something rather special about seeing this chap on his own, thinking about all the people he has known and loved," he explains.

"The show is pretty faithful to the book - the director, Simon Reade, spent time with Michael, who is very happy with the show.

"We went down to Devon, where the first half of the book is set and where Michael lives, to see all the

landmarks and get a really vivid sense of what it would have been like to live there.

"The stage will be quite sparse, so it will be up to the audience to use their imagination as Private Tommo tells his story.

"There are a couple of big differences, mainly to do with the ending, although I don't want to give too much away!

"The conclusion in the book is not really suitable for the stage, although I would say ours is equally powerful. It won't be a happy ending but there will be a glimmer of hope."

Mark, who recently played Lysander in a production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream at The Globe Theatre, has even compared Morpurgo's work to that of the Bard.

"They may be completely different in terms of storytelling but I would say Michael's work is just as good as Shakespeare's; it's right up there with some of the greatest writers in history.

"It has been such a privilege working on this show, and we just hope people enjoy it as much as we have putting it all together."