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Lifeboat
- Tour
Playwright - Nicola McCartney
Director - Gill Robertson
Set Designer - Karen Tennent
Lighting Designer - Jeanine Davies
Costume Designer - Miriam Duffield
Composer - Dave Trouton
Company - Catherine Wheels Theatre Company in association with
Brunton Theatre Musselburgh
Venues & Dates - See end of review for details originally
toured.
Run Time - 70 mins
Suggested age - +10 (reviewers's comment I saw younger children really
engrossed in this and it will appeal to anyone who loves dramatic plays
whether young or old.
Reviewer - Thelma Good
From the moment the lights go up Lifeboat comes across as the fine, dramatic
and true story it is.
Two girls in WW2, Beth Cummingham and Bess Walder, 14 and 15 left their
homes in Liverpool and London as 2 of 90 evacuees going to Canada on The
City of Benares along with many other paying passengers. Four days into
the voyage the cruise ship was torpedoed. Beth and Bess, separated from
her little brother Louie, found themselves clinging on to a lifeboat in
the Atlantic.
We see the girls' lives and experiences just before the voyage as well
as their time on sea. Beth, her widowed mother and older brothers in Liverpool,
a lively girl, is given a wonderful youthful delight by Gemma Burns
as she goes to see The Wizard Of Oz, or is given a treat by her caring
brother Jeff. Bess, with her adored father who trust her to get herself
and Louie home from Picadilly Circus, is the girl nearly a woman and Suzanne
Robertson electrifies Bess's energy and dreams of Hollywood. Burns
and Robertson combine with inventive set by Karen Tennant and
direction by Gill Robertson to bring to life the girl's families, the
evacuees, the people they met and the exotic Indian stewards and unrationed
meals on the Benares. Bring the sea and its dangers to life, is Jeanine
Davies's lighting and composer David Trouton and the costumes by Miriam
Duffield complete the aristic team who are all totally in tune with production's
feel.
Willing them to survive, to "not let go", the young audiece
I saw it with, were with the girls from the beginning and like me moved
and transported by a theatre performance buoyantly accomplished. Nicola
McCartney's excellent script and the production give a real feel of what
it was like to be alive and young in Britain then. Both the playwright
and the production have created gripping theatre for anyone who loves
dramatic plays whether young or old. .
© Thelma Good 2002
Edinburgh Guide Reviews
of this multi-award winning company productions The
Snow Baby in 2003, The
Story of the Little Gentleman in 2003 and Cyrano
in 2004.
The Story of the Little Gentleman. Nominated for the 2003 TMA Best Show
for Children & Young People. Touring UK in 2004 , Sept to Oct. For
ages 4+.
Lifeboat. A revival of the 2002 winner of the Barclays Theatre Award
- Best Show for Children & Young People, by Nicola McCartney. Touring
Ireland & Canada, May to June 2004. For ages 10+.
Lifeboat - Catherine Wheels Tour May - June 2002
7,8 & 9 May at 10am & 1:45pm Musselburgh Brunton
Theatre 0131 665 2240
also 10 May at 10am and 11 May at 2pm
14 May at 7pm Paisley Arts Centre 0141 887 1010
16 May at 10am & 7:30pm Kirkcaldy Adam Smith Theatre
01592 412929
17 May at 7pm Oban Corran Halls 01631 567333
19 May at 3pm Aberdeen Lemon Tree Theatre 01224 642230
24 May at 7pm Galashiels Volunteer Hall 01750 724901
27 May at 7:30pm St Andrews Byre Theatre 01334 475000
29 May at 7:15pm Edinburgh Traverse Theatre 0131 228
1404
also 30 & 31 May at 10:30pm & 12:45pm
4 June at 7pm Glasgow Tron Theatre 0141 552 4267
5 June at 2pm Livingstone Howden Park Centre 01506 433634
8 June 2002 at 3pm East Kilbride Arts Centre 01355 261000
Tour Ends
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