NOT FORGOTTEN

A groundbreaking collaboration between a theatre, five east Kent communities and the Port of Dover comes together to mark the Armistice next week.

Return Of The Unknown has been a year in the making, about the unknown soldier, who was to become the symbol of a nation’s remembrance.

It will be staged in Dover Marine Station, now part of Dover Cruise Terminal, where First World War ambulances returned, the wounded were tended and the healing began.

A team of seven professional actors - including Ben Roddy, best known as the Marlowe Theatre’s pantomime dame - will be joined by 70 community performers, 13 schools, 14 choir groups, 14 soldiers from The Princess of Wales’s Royal Regiment, and 25 young dancers trained by the internationallyacclaimed Jasmin Vardimon Company for the immersive production.

Marlowe patron Sir Michael Morpurgo, who said it was “wonderful”, said: “How should we remember? We can’t. They are all gone. All we can remember is what they have done, and the peace they gave us, a peace we must hold dear. All we can do is sing the anthem; tell the story.” Written by James Baldwin, the theatre’’s literary associate, with Andy Dawson, the theatre’s head of artistic productions, as artistic director, the show is directed by Matt Costain (A Monster Calls, War Horse). Led by a professional creative team from The Marlowe, contributors have spent more than a year exploring the story of the Unknown Warrior. Producer Fiona Banks said: “The space resonates with memories of events past and our creative team are relishing the challenge of working with our local communities to uncover stories known and forgotten.”

Return Of The Unknown is at Dover Marine Station from Thursday, November 8 to Sunday, November

11, for ages 10 and over. Tickets, priced £14.50, can be bought from the box office on 01227787787 or marlowetheatre.com.