The rain held off on Saturday, July 19, for an experimental sharing of ‘Letters to the Living, Songs to the Dead’, a work in progress by Wimborne Community Theatre group and school children from Allenbourn School in a secret Forest Garden site. This was the result of a series of creative sessions over the last six months, led by Claire Raftery and Damian Wright, of Periplum, funded by BBC Performing Arts Grant.
The audience watched as a soldier, recovering from shell shock, wandered into the secret garden where he encountered a group of children doing their bit for the war effort. . .
Audience members were asked to give feedback:
‘Lovely to see such a mix of ages working together.’
‘Atmosphere and setting was appropriate to give a feeling of WW1.’
‘Community theatre at its best.’
‘I was genuinely drawn into the performance.’
‘Interesting how the research emerged.’
Watch this space for how we develop this project.