"It doesn’t matter how much armour a soldier surrounds himself with, it doesn’t protect him from the fact war is about trying to kill another human being. It echoes through human history.”

So says Nick Warnford, from city artists collective Two Bins, as he prepares to direct the company’s revival of Nick Whitby’s First World War play To The Green Fields Beyond.

Last seen at The Old Market with Maggie Clune’s Hangman in 2011, Two Bins made its name through new writing, such as the Argus Angel-winning Fringe hits After Party and Cuckoo, as well as Ten Men: The Lives Of John Bindon.

But with its members currently working on new projects, Warnford has taken the opportunity to focus on a play he has wanted to tackle since it was first performed at the Donmar Warehouse, in London, in a 2000 production directed by Sam Mendes.

To The Green Fields Beyond focuses on a tank crew towards the end of the conflict on the night before a planned major operation.

“The tanks were revolutionary,” says Warnford, who was further inspired to stage the play in this centenary year of the First World War.

“They are still amazing solid pieces of machinery. When they were first unleashed, they tried to keep a bit of secrecy around them and develop a myth about the tank. There was panic in the trenches when they were first seen.”

The crew at the centre of Whitby’s story have similarly seen myths develop around them, which leads to an American journalist embedding with them.

“He’s an interesting character – almost the enemy within,” says Warnford. “He’s infiltrated their camp hungry to build a story rather than directly comment on what these men have been doing.

“They have a reputation as a crew. They’re supposed to have gone ‘fanti’ – almost feral – and done stuff that’s slightly untoward.

“One isn’t quite sure how they have this savage reputation. Is it pure myth or is there some truth to it?”

The use of First World War slang such as “fanti” and “the breeze” to describe fear or nerves is part of what attracted Warnford to the play.

“It’s clearly a period piece but it’s very well-researched,” he says. “The writing feels quite modern, which is one of its strengths. The crew represent not just the people of that time – their spirits are etched through history.”

The cast provide a microscopic view of a multicultural world, with the tank containing both a Sikh and a Jamaican crew-member drawn from the Commonwealth to fight shoulder- to-shoulder with the British Tommies.

“There are lots of different backgrounds within the crew,” says Warnford, who spent time with his cast of 11 actors establishing each character’s back story.

“They have very different beliefs – a couple of them have a very scientific approach, while another has a very spiritual outlook on life. It makes for quite a melting pot.

“They have been together for a long time – they’ve enjoyed a run of luck for three years, when life expectancy for tank crews wasn’t particularly long.

“There’s a clear strong bond between them. All tank crews were enlisted from different areas but they operated very much as a unit, in perhaps a more democratic way than other armed forces.”

The play takes place in a confined space within The Open House, further emphasising the closeness between the characters.

To establish that bond Warnford spent time encouraging the cast to talk about their backgrounds and even got them to sing together at the start of the rehearsal period.

“Several of the actors knew each other before,” he says. “Getting to know each other has been terrific.

“We’re a diverse bunch but everyone fell in love with the writing. They are all as passionate about the play as I am.”