SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND by Steven Dykes

American Theatre Arts in collaboration with the School of Design, Management and Technical Arts presents..

SOMEWHERE IN ENGLAND 
by Steven Dykes

Director - Steven Dykes

Designer - Alice Carroll

Lighting Designer - Lilli Fisher

Director’s Note

The events in Somewhere in England are all based on the accounts, letters and autobiographies of those who lived through the Second World War.

There really was an all-female, all-African-American 6888th Central Postal Battalion stationed at a school in Birmingham and the 800 strong company redirected a two-year backlog of unidentified mail in less than six months, before doing the same in France. Also historically accurate is the fact that 75% of the drivers of the fleet of trucks known as the ‘Red Ball Express’, which kept the Allies supplied on their advance through France in 1944, were also African-American. The American Army was segregated to such a degree that British towns were designated ‘no go areas’ on alternate nights for black and white soldiers respectively. This did not prevent race riots breaking out in the likes of Bristol, Lancaster and Oxford, leading to several fatalities. By the end of the war, the military had also stepped up its interrogation and expulsion of homosexual personnel as America returned to ‘normalcy’ and the ultra-conservatism of the McCarthy period.

Most intriguing is that an institution such as The Rookery did indeed exist, the only facility of its kind at the time, dedicated to the psychological rehabilitation of American servicewomen. The female doctors who then worked in the field of neuro-psychiatry included pioneers who would go on to make vital contributions to the study of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Our ‘Rookery’ is based on the original in Headington, Oxford, a late 18th Century Manor House, which bears many similarities to our venue this evening in Sidcup. I am deeply indebted to the staff at Ruskin College, Oxford University, which now occupies the site, for allowing me to explore the facility, grounds and archives

‘Somewhere in England’ is the address American soldiers stationed in this country were instructed to give their families back home. It is another indication of the many secrets that generation learnt to live with, and which we are only beginning to unearth today.

Venue: Sidcup Manor House

Running Time: 3 hours including a 15 minute interval

Suggested Age: 16+ (Adult Themes and Scenes depicting homophobic and racist attitudes)

Accessibility: The show is site-specific in an 18th Century Manor House requiring audience members to promenade up and down several flights of stairs