Heroes Without a Parachute
My latest play is an enlightening, often moving, and at times funny play about the airmen of the First World War who risked their lives in flimsy aeroplanes seemingly held together with little more than luck. And without so much as a parachute to rely on should their luck fail.
This was at a time when the world was changing rapidly, and fascination with new technology was evident everywhere. And nothing symbolised it more than the wonder of the age – the aeroplane. For many the heady combination of speed, technology and excitement must have seemed irresistible.
'Heroes Without A Parachute' tells the story of three young men who were obsessed with aeroplanes and joined the fledgling Royal Flying Corps,formed just a couple of years before the outbreak of WW1. James McCudden, who was one of th.e most decorated airmen of World War One, is played by Simon Peter Ancellon, Robert Loraine, who was a famous actor as well as becoming a Major in the RFC, is played by Christopher Pegler-Lambert and 'Bosky' Borton is played by James Scannell who has played in several of Webb's plays, including the recent tour of 'The Invisible Man'.
Initially used simply for reconnaissance, the RFC quickly established itself as playing an indispensable role in the war,developing fighting and bombing capabilities and changing the way wars would be fought forever. But as the war dragged on, youthful exuberance was replaced by harsh reality. By the spring of 1917 British air squadrons were losing 200 pilots a month, and life expectancy for a pilot was a pitiful elevendays. Flying in flimsy, primitive machines without a parachute, theunimaginable bravery of these extraordinary pioneering airmen was pivotal in determining the outcome of the war.
The three airmen who are central to the play were typical of their kind. As their actions affect the way the war develops, so the war has a profound effect on their lives and loves too. And for the two who survived the conflict, it continues to affect them for the rest of their lives.
The way that wars are fought has changed dramatically, but the human story at the heart of the play is no different today. And for younger members of the audience who, like their counterparts a century ago, are eager to embrace the new and exciting, the underlying themes of Heroes Without A Parachute will resonate strongly, making it a play that is ideal for family audiences as much as older audiences.