Women & Theatre are working in partnership with the Birmingham Hippodrome and the Royal Regiment of Fusiliers Museum (Royal Warwickshire) in the delivery of a participatory heritage project exploring the experiences of young men and boys from Birmingham during WWI.

The project will bring together a group of 14-25 year old males to research the experiences of young recruits during WWI and share them through live performances around an old drill hall site area in Thorp Street, a temporary exhibition at the RRF Museum and this digital archive. We will be updating this blog with material as the project progresses, and hope you will enjoy an insight into the process.


We are very fortunate to have received funding for this project from the Heritage Lottery Fund, The Grimmit Trust, The Cole Charitable Trust, The Roughley Trust, The Rowlands Trust and Service Birmingham. We are also grateful to Chung Ying Garden and the Gallan Group for their permission to use the old Drill Hall site.

Thursday 10 April 2014

The Performance - Sunday 30 March

(written by Shabraz - project participant)

The day of the performance itself began with a dry run, before the big shows at 2:00pm & 4:00pm. Nerves were kicking in, for me and the other members, but one thing is for sure, we were going to seize the moment and grab this opportunity with both hands!
After the final practices had been done, we moved to the Foyer where the performance began. World War I music began as the boys descended down the stairs, imitating a group of young lads from the war era, who were getting ready to sign up.

Minutes later, a very attractive looking lady by the name of Frankie comes down the stairs, with a man on her arm, much to the delight of these young boys, who erupt in cheers!
The lads were then asked to sign up for the army as their country needed them and it was a duty that was expected. As they signed up they were given the kings shilling, congratulated, and made their way back into the line. The audience were then asked to line up, as if they were signing up too (actually giving the boys a chance to assemble in the car park!) and then they were led out.

In the Thorp Street car park, (the old Drill Hall site), each spectator was handed an ID card with a boy’s details on - we had to find him, hand him a good luck charm, and say our final goodbyes.
Once every boy had been found and families had said their farewells, the boys made a line and marched back into the Hippodrome’s Patrick Centre studio to prepare for war.  The audience followed them and upon arrival, saw the soldiers being instructed by the Sergeant, and then writing letters to their loved ones.

To lighten the sombre mood, the lads put on an entertainment show which featured a magician, jugglers & tap dancers, much to the delight of the audience.  
As the war began, all non combatants were asked to leave the theatre of war and escorted back to the foyer, where they saw the lads come back from the War injured.

The performance received rave reviews from the audiences, which delighted all those involved.

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