The stage adaptation of Nina Bawden’s wartime drama Carrie’s War will commemorate the anniversary of the start of World War Two on 3 September by offering tickets to that evening’s performance for just five pence.
The unusual ticket price, the equivalent of one shilling in old money, is offered to the first 100 theatregoers who come along to the Apollo theatre at 19:00 on 3 September dressed in 1940s period costume.
Carrie’s War was written in 1973 and is based on Bawden’s own experiences as a wartime evacuee in Wales. The story centres on young Carrie Willow and her brother Nick, who are evacuated from London and billeted with strict old Mr Evans and his kind sister Lou in the mining valleys of South Wales. There, they meet Mrs Gotobed, Hepzibah the witch and eccentric Mister Johnny, and hear about the curse of an ancient skull.
Emma Reeves’s stage adaptation of the novel stars Sarah Edwardson as Carrie, Prunella Scales as Mrs Gotobed and Kacey Ainsworth as Lou.
Carrie’s War opened at the Apollo theatre on 24 June and ends its run on 12 September.
CB