Warp and Weft
Homefront presentations
Periods covered: Medieval, Tudor, Victorian and 1940s homefront
Contact: Sarah Gilkes
01522 705493
This is a new presentation in final preparation for bookings from August 2008. Undertaken with my older colleague Kay Rouse it draws on the wartime memories and experiences of our grandmothers.
Each one of our (up to) six sessions is given as a short stand alone piece by two moaning women equipped with garden chairs, shopping baskets or other appropriate articles: as the day progresses so does the course of the Second World War.
Using facsimile documents and with both original and replica objects we explore the impact of world events on aspects of life on the Home Front (and look at changing attitudes and aspirations...):
- Summer 1939: The Phoney War & Evacuation
- Dunkirk & After: The Blitz & Fur Coats for Fire Watchers
- On the Ration: Home Cooking & A Guide to Points Shopping
- The Yanks Are Coming: Over Here - Tap pants and Yankee Bags
- Toward D-Day: It’s a Lovely Day Tomorrow?
- Victory in Europe: Street Parties & Jobs for the Boys
Each session begins as a brief presentation in first person character before inviting the audience 'in' to a more conventional third person conversation. Discussion, with show and tell, continues between timed sessions - allowing for our necessary set dressing and quick changes...
