Shots of Pentabus van on road mixed with b/w archive stills of rural life and a folk song. The director of Pentabus, Alun Bond talks about the aims of the theatre company in taking live theatre into rural areas. We then see speeded up views of company members setting up the stage in a village hall. The company members then move to the village pub for drinks prior to their performance. Interview with writer Andy Andrews who talks about the inspiration for his new piece called 'The Last Cottage' which ties together the story of a teacher moving to a village, the threat of the loss of the village school and a flashback to life during the English Civil War. We see people arriving for the performance at Wellington Heath Memorial Hall in Herefordshire. We then follow Andrews on research visits to Bewdley Museum and a village school (possibly at Worthen in Shropshire) where he talks to headmaster Gordon Dixon. At the end of the performance the Pentabus members chair a discussion about the issues raised (discussion filmed at Stanton upon Hine Heath in Shropshire).
Pentabus Company: Andy Andrews; Roger Beaumont; Alun Bond; Diana Cox; Kate Edgar; Ronan Paterson; Alan Rivett
Cameramen: Gerry Pinches; Noel Smart
Sound: Steve Phillips; Chris Munro; Mike Billing
Production Assistant: Sheila Ford
Film Editor: Andrew Denny
Executive Producer: Brian Lewis
Director: Peter Coulson