Theatre Productions. Page 37

July 07, 2020

Theatre productions in camp were a big boost to prisoner morale and stand as testament to the fortitude and spirit of men in captivity. The prisoners had a ready stock of talent to choose from, amateur and semi professional actors, building trades joiners and electricians, tailors, furniture makers and the list goes on. The shows were attended not only by the prisoners in camp themselves but allied medical staff from outside the camps, often German Officers would also attend. The production value of the shows was so high that comparison was often made with shows being presented in the London theatres.

One such comment was by Capt. Dr John Borrie, New Zealand Medical Corp. POW 23912. He wrote a book after the war 'Despite Captivity' he mentions in the book that he attended the production 'Pirates of Penzance' at BAB21 and that it equalled any theatre production he had seen in London's West End.

Below, are two programmes for the production of ''Tons Of Money'' and ''Murder Is Amusing'' the programmes are courtesy Eric Reeves, J Crouch.

The photographs below, courtesy J Crouch, show some of the men involved in the productions. Cyril Bond, actor and production, he emigrated to Australia after the war and became prominent in Film and Television.

Ken Gaylor, props and stage management. Bruce Soul, actor and productions. Harry Fieldhouse, props, productions, lighting. Eric Reeves, actor, props, prompter. Also on a photograph but not in the above productions. Norman Guard and a talented Reg Ward who often played a female role.

The photograph below shows a typical set. The furniture was made from tea chests, the fabrics and upholstery are made from old hessian sacks and hand painted. Courtesy J Crouch.

The photographs below are from the production ''Pirates of Penzance'' and are courtesy D Hobbs, J Crouch, H Fieldhouse and E Reeves. The part of the Pirate King was played by Howard 'shy' Fishlock Welsh Guards POW 3202.