A FLOATING theatre group will be mooring up in Wolverley next week to perform the first of two fun-filled productions.

Yorkshire-based Mikron Theatre Company is in the middle of its 35th summer tour and its actor musicians are travelling the waterways on board the company's 70-year-old narrowboat, Tyseley. This year, the audience will be treated to two performances at the Queen's Head pub, where the successful Village Voices was staged last summer.

Mikron's Ruth Cataroche, Emilia Brodie, Robert Took and Daniel Wexler will star in Mrs Brunel next Thursday, August 10 and in Carrying On on Tuesday, August 15.

Mrs Brunel tells the life story of celebrated engineer Isambard Kingdom Brunel, who was born 200 years ago, through the eyes of his wife, Mary.

By the age of 30, Brunel had already worked on the Thames Tunnel, plans for a suspension bridge in Bristol and surveyed the route for the longest railway in Britain, the Great Western.

The play will take the audience on a musical journey following his triumphs and disasters, his railways, bridges and ships and will also show him as a family man at home in London and on his estate in Devon.

Carrying On explores the history of WJ Yarwood and Sons Ltd, the respected shipyard based in Northwich on the River Weaver, where Mikron's narrowboat was built in the 1930s as part of the Grand Union Canal Carrying Company's fleet of boats.

Rachel and Kit buy the narrowboat Weaverham in 2006, 70 years after it was built in Northwich. Rachel is determined to explore its history and learn its secrets, while Kit is more determined to be a father.

Mikron's general manager, Peter Toon, who has performed in previous productions, said the audiences could expect entertaining shows, adding : "It's a fun-packed hour and a half, lots of live music, lots of laughs and that thing that Mikron always has - it's true to life. You can be in a pub with a pint of beer while watching professional theatre with a real message to it.

"We've been coming through Kidderminster for 30 years so it's always nice to come back. It was such a success last year. They should be cracking nights."

There is no need to buy tickets for the performances, which both start at 7.30pm, as they will be followed by a collection.