The time frame of this play is October, 1940 to November, 1942 and the principle location is Britain's cabinet war chambers, a large underground bunker in London.
Churchill is the main character of this play. Mary Churchill was Winston's cherished youngest daughter, 17, at the outbreak of the war (Sept. '39). She 'pitched in' as required. In her own right, Mary was a remarkable young woman. In addition to joining Winston on many of his missions as his Aid de Camp (ADC) and serving as Winston's girl Friday, availability permitting, she served with London's anti aircraft gun batteries attaining the rank equitant to captain (a command of 230 women) at wars end, age 22.
Mary's contribution in the play acknowledges the cadre of young women who worked 24-7 in the underground war cabinet chamber from lights on (Sept. 39) to lights off (Aug. '45).
The story runs from the last few days of the Battle of Britain (Oct. '40) to the break through at the Battle of El Alamein (Nov. 42). During this period, Britain went from 'hopeless but bashing on to the last man' to 'we can win!'
There are two subjects of conflict in Britain's air war addressed herein. The first, the clash of personalities of the air marshals: the technically brilliant but taciturn Air Chief-Marshal Hugh Dowding, the underrated and hard driving Air Vice-Marshal Keith Park and the egotistical, ambitious and slippery Air Vice-Marshal Trafford Leigh-Mallory. Second, the raging controversy (at the time): The 'big wing' tactic v/s the 'Fabian' tactic. The big wing pitted mass formation against the enemy mass formations while the Fabian strategy conserved assets and allowed the enemy to waist its' assets and to exhaust itself attacking targets insignificant to the conduct of battle.
The play follows Winston Churchill as he manages this caldron during the most desperate days of early WWII.
Keywords: cabinet war chamber, battle of Britain, war, battle, defense, Churchill, King George VI, London, the Blitz
Genre: Drama, Historical
Acts: 1
Run time: 45 minutes
Suitable for students 14+
Cast size: 7 actors
Male roles: 5
Female roles: 2
Cover image designed by Darwin Alejandro