Published: 13 May 2010

THE lure of the countryside is there for many families, who dream of quitting their urban homes and moving out of polluted cities to a totally green and fresh environment.

And that desire came true for journalists Jane and Brian Viner, who  met and married in Hampstead and then bought a house in Crouch End as the home for their growing family of three children.

Then came the opportunity, six years ago, for Brian, a columnist on the Independent, and Jane, a retired BBC producer, to pull up sticks and find themselves – and their children, Eleanor, now almost 17, Joseph, 15, and Jacob, 11– a new home in a rambling Victorian grange set in its own grounds in rural Herefordshire.

But, more than that, the transition gave intrepid Brian a new subject to write about in his weekly Independent dispatches, one so successful that, two years later, he produced a book, Tales of the Country, which has since sold some 40,000 copies.

Now his warm, poignant, funny book has been adapted into a play by the award-winning Pentabus Theatre Company, based in Shrewsbury, which is currently touring small theatres with it – and from tonight until Sunday you can see Tales of the Country at the Pleasance Theatre in Islington.

Next year the production – the play is written by EastEnders scriptwriter Nick Warburton – is going on a nationwide tour. “And it may well become a staple of little theatres and village halls for years to come,” says Brian.

“Nick, who is an experienced guy who has written plays for Radio 4, has done an excellent job in adapting my book. It’s been playing to packed houses in small theatres for six weeks now and the audiences are really appreciative.

“The story of us moving out of the city to the country really resonates with people, especially those who have done it and left the rat race behind.”

Pentabus had 600 applications from actors for the five parts in the play, two of the cast play Jane and Brian throughout, while the other three take on up to 30 different roles, including the three   Viner offspring.

“Our kids found it hilarious, if somewhat disconcerting, to see themselves being played on stage,” says Brian. “Jane says it was really surreal. But the Brian character is portrayed as a bit of a bumbling fool, the only bit of the play that’s not true to life at all.”

• Tales of the Country is at the Pleasance Theatre, Carpenters Mews, North Road, N7 (Caledonian Road Tube), until Sunday May 16. 7.30pm (5pm Sunday), box office 0207 609 1800, £10.