Kenilworth theatre's latest production to celebrate centenary of the Royal British Legion

By James Smith

1st Nov 2021 | Local News

The Talisman Theatre will be marking the centenary of the Royal British Legion this weekend by releasing a number of pre-recorded performances of selected of war poems.

The production will be released this Friday (May 14) and comes as the latest instalment of nearly a year of the 'Tea With The Tali' short audio plays that the theatre has produced.

The plays have proved very popular with the 50 pieces released so far receiving around 18,000 hits.

For this weekend's piece the theatre's artistic team has put together a selection of war poems set to images. These include footage from the Battle of Verdun and The Falklands War along with other images designed to make us think about the lasting affect service has on veterans.

Music, 'Only Remembered' by Horatius Bonar, is performed by local folk group Romany Pie.

Director Dave Crossfield said: "It's been a pleasure to help put together this piece for 'Tea with The Tali' marking the 100th year of The Royal British Legion's excellent work supporting the military personnel who have defended Great Britain and the Commonwealth."

Poems include well known pieces such as 'Anthem for Doomed Youth' by Wilfred Owen and 'In Flanders' Fields' by John McCrae, along with more modern pieces such as 'Life on Hold: An Ode to PTSD' by Graham Cordwell.

Graham was a member of Two Para. He served four tours of duty in Northern Ireland, totalling almost three years, and saw active service in the Falklands War in 1982. In 2002, after a mental breakdown, Graham was diagnosed with chronic PTSD and spent five years in treatment and rehabilitation.

George Illingworth, patron of the Talisman Theatre and chairman of the Kenilworth branch of the Royal British Legion said: "I am delighted the theatre is marking the centenary of the legion.

"As the second oldest branch in Warwickshire, formed on 4 June 1921, our members would, in normal times, have been marking the occasion this weekend with a public event.

"I'm grateful the people of Kenilworth and beyond can still listen to the poems and remember both the fallen, our armed forces community and the work of the Royal British Legion over the past 100 years."

The play will be released on the the Talisman Theatre's website this Friday.

If people would like to donate to the work of the Royal British Legion or find out more about their Centenary, they can visit the legion's website here

     

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