We are very sorry to have to announce that our Elephant Drive planned for 5th October has had to be cancelled for reasons beyond our control. However………..
Next month, 21st – 23rd November, sees the long awaited World Première of ‘This Secret Isle’, written by our own Peter Smith. Evening performances commence 7:30pm with the Saturday matinee starting at 2:30pm. Adults £10, children £5 (under 5’s free). There is a 10% reduction for groups of 10 and over.
Tickets are available from Corfe Castle Village Stores and www.ticketsource.co.uk/double-act-drama-group
It is an explosive new thriller set in a Wareham public house in May 1942. It is the Second World War and the people of Purbeck are stoically enduring all the restrictions and deprivations that come with war with typical British resolve and humour.
Purbeck was a Designated Defence and Prohibited Area and all residents had to have special ID cards. Visitors had to give their names & addresses and list who they were visiting at check points.
The Isle of Purbeck contained well guarded secrets that would prove vital to the war effort, such as the Telecommunication Research Establishment that was developing an early form of radar at Worth Matravers and the giant Naval cordite factory at Holton Heath. German bombers used Purbeck as a navigational aid and dumped unused bombs there before they returned back across the channel. The Battle of Britain took place in the skies above Purbeck which resulted in many downed and crash landed planes in the fields. Large swathes of Purbeck would become training areas as preparations for the invasion of Europe on D Day began. Children played where they could in Purbeck, and where they shouldn’t, and took to collecting souvenirs that were not always safe nor appreciated at home! Spies were arrested in Purbeck and a radio transmitter discovered in an old disused quarry. During all this turmoil the matriarch of a Wareham inn did all she could to keep her family safe but even she had no real idea who was sheltering under her own roof.
The players!
Virtually all the incidents depicted or referred to in this play did actually occur in the area during the time in which it is set. Although some dramatic hindsight and time condensing has been used, great care has been taken to try to honour the lives and memories of the people of Purbeck who lived through these tumultuous times.