One Night in November

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One Night in November
Belgrade Theatre - geograph.org.uk - 2207459.jpg
The Belgrade Theatre, where the play was first performed
Original titleOne Night in November
Written by Alan Pollock
Based on Coventry Blitz
Characters
  • Michael
  • Katie Stanley
  • Katie's mother
  • Leandra Ashton
Date premiered2008
Place premiered Belgrade Theatre, Coventry, England
Original language English
SubjectThe Coventry Blitz in the Second World War
GenreHistorical
Setting Coventry, England

One Night in November is a 2008 play by Alan Pollock, about the Coventry Blitz in November 1940 during the Second World War.

The play was first performed in 2008 at the Belgrade Theatre in Coventry, England. It originally starred Daniel Brocklebank (as Michael) and Joanna Christie (as Katie), and was reviewed by Michael Billington in The Guardian, [1] Paul Taylor in The Independent, [2] and Charles Spencer from The Telegraph. [3] Other actors included Helen Sheals as Katie's Catholic mother and Leandra Ashton as a code-breaking colleague of Michael. The play has a cast of five male and four female characters. [4] The script is available in 104-page book form. [5]

The play was later performed by the Guildburys Theatre Company in 2017. [6] The play was re-performed at the Belgrade Threate in 2020 to coincide with the 80th anniversary of the Coventry Blitz. [7] [8] Alan Pollock reflected on the play in a 2020 interview. [9]

Plot

The play follows the story of the Stanley family's experience of the Coventry Blitz. It considers the possibility that Winston Churchill received a warning about the attack. [4] For example, was Coventry sacrificed to encourage the United States to join World War II?

Katie Stanley is 18 years old and is training to become a teacher. While waiting for an air raid "all clear" signal, she meets Michael, a language tutor from Oxford. It could be the start of a traditional love affair. However, Michael is using his expertise in linguistics at Bletchley Park to help with the decipherment of German secret codes. Katie and her family live in Coventry. They do not realise the threat to Coventry from the air by Germany, but due to his wartime job, Michael does have this information. This moral dilemma is explored by the play.

References

  1. ↑ Billington, Michael (13 March 2008). "Review: One Night in November". The Guardian . Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  2. ↑ Taylor, Paul (18 March 2008). "One Night In November, Belgrade Theatre, Coventry". The Independent . Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  3. ↑ Spencer, Charles (13 March 2008). "One Night in November: A good old-fashioned drama". The Telegraph . Archived from the original on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  4. 1 2 "One Night in November by Pollock, Alan". Josef Weinberger Ltd. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  5. ↑ Pollock, Alan (April 2008). One Night in November. Josef Weinberger Plays. ISBN   978-0856763014.
  6. ↑ "Alan Pollock attends the Guildbury production of his play". Guildburys Theatre Company. 19 November 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  7. ↑ "One Night in November: Coventry Blitz Memories". Belgrade Theatre. 8 November 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  8. ↑ "One Night in November trailer 2020". YouTube . Belgrade Theatre. 2020. Retrieved 2 May 2025.
  9. ↑ Davies, Michael (5 November 2020). "Interview: Alan Pollock on One Night in November". Belgrade Theatre . Retrieved 1 May 2025.


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