About

Join us on Remembrance Day, November 11th at 7PM for a rehearsed reading of the historic anti war play Blighty (1914-1918), another installation of our Drama on the Rise series.

August 1914:

Germany declares war. The British military recruitment drive for World War 1 swings into action. Young women begin to shame the young men who don't join up. Moving to the trenches, the play portrays the reality for those caught up in the terrible conflict, from the ordinary soldier, to volunteer nurses, to the officers faced with an impossible task of winning a few yards of territory on the battlefield. Getting home-leave to "Blighty" is the only respite for war-weary young British soldiers who long to escape from the horrors of war.

The reading will be followed by a conversation and Q&A with the playwright and director.

The play is perfect for cross-curricula teaching of history through drama.

ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT

Jeffrey Grenfell-Hill trained for the professional theatre at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, where he was chosen to be student director in the final year. After a tour of American colleges, universities and performing arts centres, he was invited to join the examining board of the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.

His poems have appeared in Penguin and Heinemann anthologies. Samuel French have published his plays, and his monologues for young actors have been published by Oberon Books in an anthology edited by Shaun McKenna. His monologues and duologues have been chosen for the LAMDA examination syllabus for the acting exams as 'setpieces'. They are often performed as 'own choice' selections at major festivals of Speech and Drama. Jeffrey himself is an adjudicator of many years' standing with a doctorate from the University of Wales. He was Director of Sixth Form Studies at St George's School, Harpenden, where he taught A/S and A level Theatre Studies.

Jeffrey remains an examiner for the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art and in this capacity examines both in the UK and overseas.

ABOUT THE DIRECTOR

Anastasia is a theatre and film director based in London who directs new writing and modern classics. She is the Artistic Director of Patch Plays, a company devoted to staging new work that explores animal ethics and climate change. Anastasia trained in MA Theatre Directing at Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in 2019-2020. Recently she directed 'Blood On Your Hands' at Southwark Playhouse (2024) which was chosen as one of Lyn Gardner's picks of the week. Further credits include the critically acclaimed Offest finalist comedy 'Meat Cute' by Bibi Lucille (Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Gilded Balloon) 2023) and 'Darkie Armo Girl' (Finborough Theatre 2022). Anastasia has two short films currently in post production which are adaptations of the stage plays 'Blood On Your Hands' and 'Meat Cute' scheduled to be released by the end of the year.

CAST

Oli Moulden

Katherine White

Meghan Bartual Smyth

Tania Khan

Sam Bird

Noah Butt

Bibi Lucille

Rosie Twigg

Conor Field

Leyon Stolz Hunter