Set in a field hospital somewhere on the Western Front in First World War, a soldier struggles to regain his memory after being found shell-shocked and with no identification tag. The soldier, Horace, had been an actor and entertainer in the Music Halls and local theatres, and his identity is confused with many characters real and imaginary -- Harry Lauder, Vesta Tilley and Stan Jefferson (later to become Stan Laurel). The action moves between harsh reality and surreal scenes in Horace's imagination, where he performs popular songs and monologues. He struggles to remember the words of 'Mandalay'. Slowly he remembers fragments of his true identity and his disillusionment with his restrictive marriage thwarting his theatrical ambitions. When he faces the choice of being prematurely sent back to the Front or facing a Court Martial, Horace comes to a dramatic decision about his future -- but is it real or imaginary? Loosely based on the true experiences of Horace Hillerby who trod the boards with many famous names in the early 1900s, this play explores the conflicts between personal freedom and the fighting of war to preserve those freedoms.