Spitfire Girls – New Wolsey Theatre
This play is not only a dramatization, but also a celebration and an honouring of the women who joined the Air Transport Auxiliary (ATA) during World War II, and probably a part of war-time history not a lot of us know about. We all know women played a big part of the war efforts outside of the fighting, however did you know the ATA were training female pilots to fly warplanes in order to transport them between factories for servicing, maintenance and delivery to front line squadrons? No, nor did I.
We’re in The Spitfire pub and it’s New Year’s Eve 1959, Bett the landlady is getting everything ready and she comes across a keepsake from the past, which floods her thoughts and we are transported into the past, nearly 20 years earlier where Bett and her younger sister Dotty are at home on the farm…
Bett is wanting to do something useful and Dotty wants an adventure and together they apply and get accepted into the ATA. They pass their training and embrace the thrills and challenges of their task. The play takes us through moments of their lives as pilots, waiting for their job list for the day, building friendships, partying at night, falling in love and dealing with war time concerns.
As well as an insight into these amazing women who risked their lives on every flight, as there were no radios or instrument training, and they had to contend with the unpredictable British weather, we learn they were able to fly every type of warplane and just got the job done.
We learn how their efforts were a double edged sword as they were enjoying it, they were enjoying learning, being useful, having a purpose, being skilled and they were enjoying the war as it empowered women to be more than homemakers.
They challenged gender roles, faced discrimination as the play touches on the sexism that existed and how many men couldn’t believe how these women were able to fly. In 1943 the women of the ATA achieved equal pay to their male counterparts, which made the ATA one of the first organisations in Britain to implement equal pay.
We touch on love and tragedy, loss and grief and how Bett, running her pub after the war was in some way a nod to Dotty as they always said they should run a pub together, yet without giving away any spoilers, Bett lives with guilt and grief for all these years.
The format was simple in order to allow the touching story to shine through, to allow the audience to emotionally connect to the characters. However, the performance cleverly included movement to depict the freedom of flying and the joy experienced by these women.
The actors were fantastic and were able to represent the women and men of this era. The real Spitfire Girls would be proud!
Cast:
Katherine Senior – Bett
Laura Matthews – Dotty
Samuel Tracy – Tom/Jimmy
Jack Hulland – Dad/Frank
Kirsty Cox – Commanding Officer/ Joy
Don’t forget to buy the souvenir programme as it contains lots of interesting information about the history and the making of the play.
Photo Credit: Robling Photography
