Farm wins funds to put on show

A pioneering Shropshire farm has been awarded more than £13,000 to help reenact the events that helped secure its future.

The Arts Council England - West Midlands' Grants for the Arts scheme has handed the money to the Fordhall Community Land Initiative to help put together a production in the summer.

A total of £13,773 has been awarded so an updated version of Arthur's Plough, reflecting the recent events at the farm near Market Drayton, can be created.

Fordhall was the first community-owned farm in England, with more than 8,000 shareholders, and has now enlisted Chris Eldon Lee, a BBC Radio 4 dramatist, to re-write the play.

Performances will take place at the farm from June 25 to July 6, and will feature 40 singers and a cast of amateur actors, all from the north Shropshire area.

There will also be a performance at the Home Organic Farm, Attingham Park.