Rushden Remembrance play performance for town centre church

Rushden residents have been invited to a play about the Dunkirk evacuation is to be performed in a town church in conjunction with the Rushden Branch of the Royal British Legion.

The one-off 45-minute-long play The Snow Goose will take to the stage at St Mary's Church on Thursday, November 4, to tell the story of the1940 troop rescue though the eyes of two characters.

Fabula Arts - in collaboration with Laugh Out Loud Theatre - will present the adaptation of the wartime classic by Paul Gallico, a reprisal of their 2019 performance which sold out.

The actors will also tour schools the following day for workshops before performing the piece to some of Rushden's year four, five and six pupils.

Lynne Baker, Rushden Branch of the Royal British Legion schools' liaison officer, said: "The whole idea is that children will be able to see the play for free - whoever is studying the Second World War.

"The schools have been deprived of this sort of thing during lockdown. It is a chance of the children to see a live performance. The actors will be going into schools for workshops.

"I am looking forward to seeing it. It is the first time we have collaborated with a professional arts company. I would encourage people to come along.

"We are trying to get the community together in a particularly for remembrance."

Before and after performances, Mrs Baker and veterans from the Royal British Legion in Rushden will meet pupils at the war memorial to talk about its history and, if they wish, to lay crosses in the Garden of Remembrance.

Mrs Baker said: "I'm going to talk to them about the 100th anniversary of the war memorial - 12,000 people turned out when it was first built."

The cost of the workshops and performances have been paid for by private donations.

The Snow Goose is a short novel written by Paul Gallico. It is a story of friendship and love, set against the backdrop of the horror of war, which Fabula Arts has adapted into a piece of theatre.

A young girl, Frith, finds an injured snow goose which has been shot by hunters. She takes it to a disabled artist, Philip Rhayader, who lives in an abandoned lighthouse. He is a hermit, cast out of normal society, but has a reputation for being able to heal injured creatures. A friendship develops but eventually Rhayader answers the call to sail to the beaches of Dunkirk to rescue trapped British soldiers.

Click here to book online to buy tickets that are £3 each or pay with cash on the door - the performance starts at 7pm.