Newbury’s Second World War history brought to life in Greenham Control Tower play

Newbury’s Second World War history will be brought to life in a play at Greenham Control Tower.

Did you know that Northbrook Street was machine gunned or that children piled earth onto an incendiary bomb that fell in Victoria Park? Did you know that around one third of the Horsa gliders that took men from Greenham Common to Normandy and Arnhem were built by furniture makers Elliotts of Newbury while Vickers Armstrong made parts for Spitfires and Mosquitos in the factory on Turnpike Road that later became Plentys?

Such gems of local history pepper a new play to be staged at Greenham Control Tower on Thursday, March 30 and April 1 and 2.

Half-light, is written by Newbury’s Andy Kempe, who is Emeritus Professor of Drama Education at the University of Reading and a volunteer at the Control Tower. The play tells the story of how a man clearing out his mother’s attic discovers a box full of objects which, piece by piece, reveal a family history he never knew and asks the question, just how much do any of us really know about our parents lives before we came along?

Written specifically to be performed at the Control Tower by the company that presented ‘Bloody Wimmin’ there last September, the play draws on careful research into local history to capture the sometimes humorous and ultimately moving effect of a momentous day in history on ordinary people.

Tickets, priced £5 (plus booking fee) are available from www.eventbrite.co.uk