It's 1940, and Britain is at war. Young Chas McGill has the second-best collection of war souvenirs in town, but desperately wants it to be the best. Amidst the bombs and air raids, Chas and his friends plan their own war effort in their newly built bunker. Friendships are forged and loyalties tested, in the adventure of a lifetime. Robert Westall's "The Machine Gunners" has been read, studied - and loved - by successive generations of younger readers. It won the Carnegie Medal and was voted one of the most important children's novels of the past seventy years. This thrilling stage adaptation comes from the award-winning playwright Ali Taylor, and premiered at the Polka Theatre, London. It provides rich opportunities for discussion in the classroom, and for staging by schools, youth theatres and amateur companies.