It’s an idyllic summer in 1914 rural Lancashire. Excitement is building for Wakes week; a rest from field and mill and a celebration of the Rushbearing Festival with singing, courting, drinking and dancing.
The looming war barely registers … but it will.
An August Bank Holiday Lark is a gentle, deeply moving drama poised at the tipping point of war. Intensely nostalgic and emotionally rich, this is a story that will both entertain and tug at your heart strings.
Through the lens of traditional rural life you’ll follow the stories of folk with colour, character and charm, and witness their personal transitions from exuberance and touching naivety to a profound and devastating loss of innocence.
Performed by the charismatic cast of actor-musicians that is Northern Broadsides – a northern company with genuine heart and soul – you’ll soon come to see why they are multi-award winning; recognised by audiences and critics alike as one of the finest national touring theatre companies in the land.
Playwright Debbie commented: “I was given the title, which is taken from a line in Philip Larkin’s poem MCMXIV.
“I thought of the Rushcart quite quickly as it’s an August festival and a northern one too. From this I got the kind of place my play would be set in and some of the characters.
“The particular aspect of conflict my play touches on is Gallipoli. The action, however, remains on the home front in the world the young soldiers left behind – a world ultimately left behind by history. As Larkin puts it in his poem – Never such innocence again…”
The play opened in February in Newcastle-under-Lyne before touring the country and will end with its finale at the Oldham Coliseum in June.
An August Bank Holiday Lark will be performed at Oldham Coliseum from 10 – 14 June. For tickets please visit www.coliseum.org.uk or call 0161 624 2829.
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