| A little play with a big heart comes to the cornerHOUSE in February.
Lifeboat, the true story of a wartime tragedy, comes to the arts centre in Douglas Road, Surbiton, on Thursday, February 10 to Saturday, February 12 at 8pm.
The award-winning play by Nicola McCartney tells the story of how two young girls survived the sinking of the SS City of Benares which was torpedoed in the Atlantic by a German U-boat on September 17, 1940.
The boat had been carrying 250 passengers, including 90 children, to safety in Canada from war-torn Britain. Only 11 children survived.
Imaginatively staged to show their lives at home, on board ship and their terrifying ordeal in the water, Lifeboat, directed by Rodney Pearson, recounts how Bess Walder aged 15 from London and Beth Cummings aged 14 from Liverpool, clung for 19 hours to an upturned lifeboat waiting for rescue.
It is a tale of survival against huge odds where courage, loyalty and enduring friendship in the face of almost certain death were tested to their limits. The girls simply refused to give up hope. They willed each other to survive.
Pearson, who has directed numerous shows before including Pack of Lies, Dancing at Lughnasa, Under Milk Wood and Brassed Off, to name but a few, said: “The story of the sinking of the SS City of Benares is so important that everybody needs to be reminded of it from time to time.
“This is a little play with a big heart that draws audiences into the story of the two young girls. The audience will travel on a journey with Beth and Bess, becoming involved in their lives before, during and after their shipboard experience.
“Laughter and tears are part of the journey, and the memory of seeing this production will remain with you long after the 55 minutes of the performance.”
Originally commissioned by Catherine Wheels, a Scottish-based theatre company, following publication of a magazine article about the survivors of the SS City of Benares, Lifeboat won the Barclays Theatre Award in 2002 for best new play for children and young people.
It has been professionally performed to great acclaim, and the strength of the story and its dramatization has been appreciated as much by adults as its intended younger audience.
In 2010, the script was adapted as a one-act play by Pearson for the Cobham Players. It went on to win several awards at the Elmbridge and Leatherhead Drama Festivals.
This production of Lifeboat will be supported by readings and music from the period.
This is a production for all ages. Miss it at your peril. |
Surbiton Forum 