Brylcreem Boys to shine again

Playwrights use a variety of themes for their plays, but one of the most emotive must be the trauma of fighting in a world war.

The Brylcreem Boys, by Peter Durrant, is a dramatization of events which happened to his father when he was a member of the crew of a Lancaster bomber during the Second World War.

Brylcreem Boys is set in a wartime hospital where the patients, all fighter and bombing crew, are suffering from shell shock.

Each member of the seven-man crew graphically relives his experiences, bringing the terror of flying on a disastrous bombing raid into enemy territory, to life on stage.

Peter said: "My mother and father, George, decked the table with wreaths and told us stories of life in the RAF during the war.

"This happened every Christmas and until I was in my early teens I always though this was a normal occurrence in all families.

"But my father had suffered enormously in the war and spent some time in hospital with depression and shock.

"Many of the stories he told about the patients and their delusions were both horrific and sad."

The Brylcreem Boys was first shown on BBC2 in 1979, has been adapted for the stage and has been performed at the Young Vic and a number of other theatres throughout the country.

Peter admitted feeling physically sick with nerves the first time he watched a live production.

He has now adapted The Brylcreem Boys especially for the Wadham Players amateur dramatic group.

The play will be performed at the Waltham Forest Drama Festival which takes place at Chingford Assembly Hall from Monday, March 27, to Saturday April 1.