Mischief, the team behind the multi award-winning The Play That Goes Wrong, is rewriting ancient history with its first musical comedy, Thespians.

Thespians will be spending two weeks of its UK tour at the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre in Guildford, from June 9 to 13, and June 30 to July 4.

Written by Jonathan Sayer and Ed Zanders, Thespians transports the audience back to 534 BC, when, on Greece’s smallest island, a brave band of bards is battling to avoid defeat in a nationwide prayer competition set up by a thin-skinned tyrant.

The stakes could not be higher. The loser faces the death sentence, and things are not looking good for the islanders, until Thespis accidentally invents acting, leading to the world’s first play and the birth of theatre.

The cast gracing the stage for this uplifting Grecian musical comedy romp comprises Allie Dart as Rhapsodes/Dance Captain, Ashley Tucker as part of the ensemble, Claire-Marie Hall as Poly, Curtis Patrick as part of the ensemble, James Spence as Thespis, Josh Patel-Foster as part of the ensemble, Luke Latchman as Atlas, Marc Pickering as Adonis, Matt Cavendish as Bard, Mia Jerome as Melampus and Rhys Taylor as The Tyrant.

Joining Jonathan Sayer and Ed Zanders, the creative team is completed by director Robyn Grant, designer Jasmine Swan, choreographer Melody Sinclair-Marsh, lighting designer David Howe, sound designer Nick Lodge, musical director Ben Smith, associate director Joe Allen, casting directors Lucy Jenkins and Sooki McShane, and executive producer Henry Lewis.

Mischief describes Thespians as “Greece the musical, but not that one”. It’s about a country rather than a tub of hair gel!

For full information on performance times and ticket prices for Thespians, call the Yvonne Arnaud Theatre box office on 01483 440000 or visit the theatre’s website at www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk