When Devina Symes penned her play Stronghold of Happiness, which is adapted from her novel of the same name; as well as recording life in Dorset during WW11, and her father’s RAF wartime experience when he was part of the first Arctic convoy to leave the UK, she drew on the wisdom of Thomas Hardy and William Barnes, who both feature in the story.
The play, which is set in Dorset in WW11 and 2005, is based around a Dorset couple, Peter and Ella Samways, who, in 2005, answered an advert placed by the local drama college, asking for couples who were married in WW11 to write in with their love story. The couple are excited when their story is chosen, and are invited to watch a rehearsal of the play and to answer questions posed by the actors about the war and way of life during the war years.
Watching their story, with its traumatic wartime events, unfold, turns out to be more dramatic, emotional, and cathartic than the couple initially realised.
1940s dress optional!
The bar opens at 7:00pm.
Not suitable for children
