As plans go, this is a cunning one.

After displaying enough bravado to shame Lord Flashheart, a theatre company is going over the top with its take on a television comedy classic.

Follow Spot Theatre Company went straight to the top when it hit on translating the ever-popular Blackadder to the stage.

Co-founder John Kitching simply asked Richard Curtis, who co-wrote the hit series with Ben Elton, for permission to stage Blackadder Goes Forth.

And John's daring paid off, with the Notting Hill and Love, Actually creator granting the amateur company the green light to stage the world premiere.

"The BBC only has television rights to Blackadder, so I started an e-mail conversation with Richard Curtis's management," said John.

"They said he would let us do it, but he wanted his fee to go to Comic Relief.

"We always stage our plays for a charity, so we thought, fine, why not donate all the profits to Comic Relief as well."

John hit on the idea of staging Blackadder Goes Forth from his teenage son. He said: "He'd borrowed my Blackadder audio tapes and had got into the habit of listening to them as he fell asleep.

"I came in one night to turn off his light and I could hear the tape going. I just thought, we can do this. It'd be brilliant for the stage."

John and the gang were not fazed by staging a BBC comedy, having already produced their own 'Allo 'Allo! and Dad's Army. "We didn't have John Le Mesurier or Gorden Kaye then and we didn't do a bad job. We don't have Stephen Fry to play General Melchett now, but we do our own interpretation."

Follow Spot's version features four of the classic episodes: Corporal Punishment, Major Star, General Hospital and Goodbyeee.

John said: "We're not doing Private Plane because the flying sequences would be a bit tricky on the stage, and Captain Cook only needs five actors and we wanted everyone to be involved. I think the appeal of Blackadder is universal. It's a really funny show and it shows the futility of war. That's being felt still with what's happening in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Goodbyeee, the final episode where they go over the top, is really emotional and telling."

Blackadder Goes Forth is at Guiseley Theatre, The Green, from Thursday, October 19, to Saturday, October 21.

Tickets, £6 for adults and £5 for concessions, are available from the company box office on (0113) 2509440.

e-mail: jonathan.walton@bradford.newsquest.co.uk