RNLI partners with touring theatre companies as charity turns 200

The Royal National Lifeboat Institution has partnered with Reading-based company PlayWell Productions and Whitby-based company Dogwood Productions to create two new musicals as the charity approaches its 200-year anniversary.

RNLI, the charity that saves lives at sea, will turn 200 on March 4, 2024 and, in a partnership with the two touring theatre companies that will run until 2025, will produce two new musicals.

The shows in association with RNLI will be With Courage by PlayWell Productions and Facing the Waves by Dogwood Productions.

Dogwood director, Antony Bellekom, said: "The RNLI is about ordinary people doing extraordinary things. The anniversary marks two centuries worth of tales of bravery, sacrifice and triumph. 

"In that sense, it’s a gift for theatre makers, with an amazing richness of stories as source material. But it’s not all about the past: just as the seas off our coast will always have the potential to take lives, so the tradition of volunteering goes on. It’s like a baton of responsibility being passed down through the generations". 

"It’s a great opportunity to reach new audiences whilst recognising the dedication of these communities", Steph Weller from PlayWell said.

 "The RNLI is so well loved and supported that our association will be part of a national awareness when the anniversary is with us in March 2024".  

Both shows will have RNLI branding.

PlayWell’s production of With Courage is by Jon Hare and follows the story of a fictional coastal community as a modern-day crew races to a rescue on the anniversary of a great storm and will be directed by Charlie Westenra with support from Poole Lighthouse, Mercury Theatre, and Omnibus Theatre. 

Dogwood Production’s Facing the Waves has taken the approach of adding to its research through a reminiscence project supported by funding from the National Heritage Lottery Fund, and the Creative Lives charity. The music is being composed Alastair Collingwood.

Both shows are currently in development in Whitby and Poole respectively, and aiming to premiere in 2024, to coincide with the RNLI’s 200th anniversary.