As we approach the centenary of the Armistice of 1918, leading rural touring companies New Perspectives and Pentabus have joined forces for the first time to explore the legacies of conflict and the unexpected stories that emerge from war in Crossings. Shifting between 1919 and 2019, this subversive piece of new writing by award-winning Irish playwright Deirdre Kinahan looks at solace across the century: those who have found refuge in the English countryside from more recent conflicts in Sarajevo, and those who turned to women’s clothing to escape the bravado and brutality of military life in the WW1 trenches.
Crossings is inspired by real-life occurrences of cross dressing in the military, and on conversations with Bosnian and Baltic communities in rural areas that the show will tour to.
In 1919, Badgersbridge Village Hall is Margaret’s domain and the last place she expected to come face to face with Grace; a cross-dressing soldier who knew and loved Margaret’s brother. Through this chance meeting their two lives collide resulting in an unlikely pairing that will change the course of both of their futures. Fast forward to 2019. Sean can’t find his mother to meet Mirjana from the care company, here to help her stay in her own home. Mirjana is from Sarajevo, but has lived in the village since escaping the war there as a teenager. The village hall has been her solace and proves an unlikely link between them.
Further Information can be found at www.newperspectives.co.uk and www.pentabus.co.uk
