Lifeboat

Winner! TMA/Barclays Equity Award for Best Show for Children and Young People 2002

Tuesday 17 September 1940

Two fifteen-year-old child evacuees, Bess Walder and Beth Cummings, are fast asleep on board a steam passage ship, The City of Benares, sailing away from World War Two torn Britain and relentless German bombing

Just before midnight they are violently awoken when the ship is hit by a German torpedo and starts to sink

Bess and Beth join the stampede to the lifeboats

Then begins their desperate battle to survive, clinging on to an upturned lifeboat for a night and a day, in the icy waters of the North Atlantic

Out of ninety children on board The City of Benares, Bess and Beth were among only a few who survived

Based on an extraordinary true story, Lifeboat is a tale of courage in the face of overwhelming danger, lifelong friendship and the will to survive

REVIEWS

“Do not miss this fantastic play” ~ Edinburgh Evening News

“The play's high adventure and touching lessons in family, fortitude and friendship are conveyed with exceptional theatrical skill” ~ The New York Times

“A wonderful, affectionate portrait of wartime family life, with a powerful feeling for the popular music and culture . . . Sheer passion and spirit ... At the end the audience wiped the tears from their eyes and rose to give them a standing ovation” ~ The Scotsman