Members of Attleborough High School's Sixth Form Drama department performed a poignant tribute to Attleborough's first world war heroes.
Members of Attleborough High School's Sixth Form Drama department performed a poignant tribute to Attleborough's first world war heroes.
Oliver Allen, Christopher Dungar and Bethany White gave two performances last week of a play they had created themselves about the war.
The play, devised after a term's research into this momentous era in the 20th Century, focused on the experiences of Norfolk people.
The performance, which formed part of their A-level drama exam, used the experiences of three central characters - an officer, his wife and a local tradesman - as a framework to illustrate the devastation experienced by many local families, from the initial propaganda and patriotism experienced at home through to the reality of life in the trenches and the suffering and loss endured through battle casualties.
Student Oliver Allen said: 'Researching this play had a striking effect on all of us. To gain a greater understanding of people's experiences at this time and to ensure no-one forgets what many people endured in the first world war is so important.'
Drama teacher Carmina McConnell added: 'This was exceedingly moving. The inclusion of local detail - specific dates and descriptions of actual events in Norfolk during the first world war - really added to the success of the portrayal. This, along with the professionalism of the cast resulted in a very successful performance.'
The factual information upon which the play was based comes from an on-going research project about the soldiers from Attleborough and the catchment area, during the war. The project started by former head of history Chris Clarke, and has been continued by present members of Attleborough High School's history department, Simon Davies and Ramin Keshavarz.
The project organisers would welcome information that could be provided by members of the public. If you have any information about Attleborough people and their first world war experiences, e-mail the archive organisers at 1wwhistory@attleboroughhigh.org.uk
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