KS2 Christmas Truces Play: Full text, with all stage and set directions, based on 1914 Truces

In December 1914 up to 100,000 British, German and French soldiers put down their arms to celebrate Christmas. It was a glimpse of humanity and hope in the brutal and dehumanising industrial slaughter of World War 1.

Fast forward to Christmas over a hundred years later. As two young girls prepare for their present-day Christmas, they learn about the truces by reading the letters and diaries of their great-grandfather, who took part in the truces. The play moves between these two moments, linked together by family ties unfolding through letters and stories.

This wonderful play brings alive the events of Christmas 1914. It is interspersed with traditional and modern carols, and parents can be invited to join in.

This professional play includes full cast lists and production overview, complete texts which can be downloaded and annotated for children, historical notes for teachers, and a PowerPoint slide show. All these resources are free, and no license or performance fee is required.

The play can be used either as a stand-alone performance, or as part of a whole term, cross-curriculum teaching programme using the Martin Luther King Peace Committee’s Christmas Truces resources, available for free from TES or at the Martin Luther King Peace Committee website.

This play was written by Ray Clark and Mish Margison of Atkinson Road Primary School, drawing on the resources created by Newcastle University’s Martin Luther King Peace Committee to mark the December 1914 truces.