Details

In the first month of the Blitz alone 5,730 people were killed, 9,003 seriously injured. In Stepney 2160 homes were destroyed, with 13480 damaged but repairable. In Lewisham about 1700 homes were destroyed with 23370 houses seriously damaged. By the end of the Blitz in May 1940, 9 months later, 43,000 people had been killed, half of them in London. Some of the children who survived this are still alive today. They are living in modest homes or residential care. When we look at their faces we see their age and frailty, but when do we ask their story? Blackbirds is the story of Londoners who lived through the hardest of times and are here to tell us the tale; in their own words, collected by local children and performed by local people. In an age when we are connected by global networks, but don't know our neighbours, "Blackbirds" tells of a time when Britain was at it bravest, and bombs fell daily in your street.

Cast/Performers

Jasmine Atkinson, Lucy Bradshaw, Sapphire Collins, Louie Douglas, Iris Dove, Tabitha Earthrowl-Law, Melisa Erdem, Ella Fogg, Amanda Getrrup, Rosy-Lea Hawney, Chris Hawney, Kezia Herzog, Robert Herzog, Ryan Hewitt, Chris Hiller, Marina Hussain-Leones, Asya Karababa, Hacer Karababa, Ian MacNaughton, Alex Madewell, Rose Mahoney-Moore, Victoria O

Creatives/Company

Author: Simon Startin
Producer: London Bubble
Lighting: Alex Stone
Costume: Holly White
Director(s): Jonathan Petherbirdge (project), Julia Voce (assistant)
Sound: Opaean
Design: Pip Nash