IT may be tempting to think you have had enough of war stories with the daily diet of conflict around the globe on television and in newspapers, but R.C. Sherriff's brilliant play Journey's End, based on fact, is a must see experience.

From the moment the Wolverhampton Grand theatre's curtain rises to the scream of shells, explosions and the rattle of machine gun fire, the audience are gripped by the action, set in the officers' section of British trenches near the front line during World War One.

There is a riveting performance from Nick Hendrix, playing Captain Stanhope, the brave young commanding officer of a company preparing for a daring raid across No Man's Land to capture an enemy soldier and gather intelligence, in the days leading up to the last great German offensive.

Hendrix perfectly portrays a soldier who has spent too long at the front and, though loved by his men, needs bottles of whiskey to help him face the horror of war.

And Bridgnorth-born Graham Butler is excellent as 2nd Lieutenant Raleigh, a naive newcomer.

Sherriff's story, based on his own experience, includes humour, too, but the final scene and sound effects delivering a crescendo of explosions is awesome.

When the curtain rises at the end, the cast stand silently in from of a giant board listing names of the fallen, as a lone bugler sounds the Last Post. As they leave the stage, the applause is deafening.

by Paul Marston