The 306: Day, the second part in Oliver Emmanuel and Gareth Williams’ powerful new First World War trilogy, is set to embark on an expansive Scottish tour between 5 May and 3 June 2017. The show, which explores how the conflict affected women, families, and communities on the home front, will open at Perth’s historic Station Hotel on 5 May before setting off on a Scottish tour. It will visit venues, town and village halls, and civic spaces across the country, including performances in Glasgow, Clydebank, Aberdeen, Dundee, Lockerbie, Galashiels, Ballachulish, Wigtown, Cove, Nairn, Arrochar, and Fort Augustus.
The first part of the trilogy, The 306: Dawn, premiered in the summer of 2016 and marked the centenary of the Somme Offensive. Audaciously staged within a barn in the Perthshire countryside,
Inspired by real events and first-hand accounts, The 306: Day will tell the stories of three women left behind in the wake of the executions, and their struggles to be heard above the clamour of the conflict. The year is 1917, and the war across the channel rages on. In Russia, a revolution is turning the social order on its head while at home in Britain, there are women fighting their own battles. Rents are rising. Food is scarce. And war work can be deadly.
The show features a contemporary score performed live by leading members of the Red Note Ensemble, who also contributed a deft and moving accompaniment to last year’s The 306: Dawn. Composer Gareth Williams is a long-term collaborator with both Red Note and Oliver Emanuel; the pair previously worked on The End of the World (for One Night Only) which Red Note commissioned, developed and staged in Edinburgh in December 2012. The National Theatre of Scotland also reunites with Perth Theatre and collaborates with Stellar Quines for the first time, under the new Artistic Directorship of Jemima Levick.
The 306: Day is co-commissioned with 14-18 NOW, the UK’s arts programme for the First World War centenary. Support for the tour comes from The Gannochy Trust, The Forteviot Trust, and The Thomson Charitable Trust.
