See where it all started.
“…an unforgettable experience.”
A one-hour version of the show was produced at St. Nicholas Church, Burnage to mark 100 years since the start of the First World War.
Oliver Mills helmed production as Director and Producer, with Writer Rachel Mann also taking a Producer role. They assembled a wonderfully talented and skilled team, with people from all around the Manchester area contributing to all aspects of the production.
Real-Life School friends Sam Gilliatt and Alex Cosgriff took on the lead roles of Greville and Bert respectively, with local actor Mike Law playing Bert’s Older self. The two generations of Anna were portrayed by Amelia Baxter and Rachel Tudor-Barry, with Hannah Goldsby and Barbara Purvis taking the other two female lead roles: Ada and Edith. “The Lads,” who make up Greville’s platoon were played by Jamie Rahman (Dougie), Peter Cullen (Davey), Tom Fawcett (Alf) and Will Spence (Reg). Also involved was Alex Curwen, who took on a number of smaller roles, including the Newspaper seller, who aided the transition through time from 1982 to 1914.
The production team also collaborated with the fantastic Burnage Community Choir who, as off-stage chorus, acted as townspeople and “the voices of home.”
The show was staged in two sections, with the 15-minute ‘1982 Prologue’ taking place in the hall at the rear of the building, with audience standing all around the actors. As “The Opening” kicked in, sung in flash-mob style by the choir, a partition curtain was dropped to reveal the immersive frontline trench set, where the remainder of the show took place.
The show ran for three sold-out performances across 5th and 6th September 2014.
“…a wonderful and haunting piece of theatre.”
“…they compel us to consider the savage consequences of war, not just on those directly involved, but also on the families and wider communities left behind”
Review Credit: Barbara Leary