A promenade theatrical performance exploring the lives of young people in York during the First World War, staged on the recreated Victorian street at York Castle Museum.
York Theatre Royal’s Youth Theatre is bringing Forward to Victory to York Castle Museum from Thursday 9 to Saturday 11 July, a three-night run that sees three different groups of 11-14 year olds take the stage. It's a promenade play written by Rachel Barnett-Jones, first performed in 2017, and it's a collaboration between the theatre's youth company and the museum.
The story follows five York lads, all named Tommy, who share the same dream: to become soldiers and head to the Front. While that's the driving force, the play spends as much time on the home front, looking at how life in the city was shaped by the war. The scenes are drawn from research into the museum's own archives, so it's rooted in the city's actual history. It touches on things like caring for the wounded, working the land, the letters that went back and forth between soldiers and their families, conscientious objectors, and the general feeling of living in a world that had changed overnight.
Because it's a promenade show, you don't sit in one place. The performance takes place on Kirkgate, the recreated Victorian street inside the museum, which is the oldest of its kind in Britain. You'll be moving through the street as the scenes unfold around you, rather than watching from a seat. The production is also linked to the museum's exhibition 1914: When the World Changed Forever, so you can see the wider context of the period before or after the show.
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Each night features a different group of young performers: Thursday is the YSJ 11-14’s Youth Theatre Group, Friday is the York College 11-14’s Youth Theatre Group, and Saturday is the YTR 11-14’s Youth Theatre Group. It runs from 9 to 11 July at York Castle Museum.
