This November, Thirty-Odd Feet Below Belgium will be previewed at the Brewhouse Arts Centre in Burton upon Trent. First commissioned by Shoot Festival and performed at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, the play brings to life the letters exchanged during the First World War between Geoffrey Boothby of the South Staffordshire Regiment, and later Royal Engineers, and Edith Ainscow, a seventeen year old soon-to-be medical student at the University of Birmingham.
The production will take place on Wednesday 14th November, at 7:30pm and tickets are free to anyone wishing to attend. To reserve tickets please call 01283 508100, tickets will also be available on the door.
In September 1990, Edith’s son Arthur chanced upon this historically significant collection of letters whilst clearing out his mother’s home. The letters offer a rare glimpse into the life of a tunneller during the First World War.
Despite the ever-present fear of bad news, Edith’s letters are hopeful, charming and sensitive, while the cheeky and light-hearted Geoff offers us a fresh and deeply moving perspective of the war fought underground.
Director and adaptor Gloria Lowe said: “I came across the published letters in 2014 and was very moved by Edith and Geoff’s correspondence. I feel strongly that their voices should be heard and that this important story reaches as many people as possible. Such stories remind us what it is to be human”
Gloria is joined in directing the show by co-director Martin Berry, whose previous credits include Playing With Fire at the Royal Festival Hall and the West End production of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat. Edith and Geoff are played by Bethan Nash and Francis Lowe.
The production includes live action and projected animation, directed by Francis Lowe, whose previous credits include work on CITV’s ‘Wolves, Witches and Giants’ and BAFTA-nominated ‘Grizzly Tales for Gruesome Kids’. Budding animators Ben Wooding and Dominic Leatham have been supported by the Fenton Arts Trust to work on the production.