Whitby lifeboat stories to star in new musical to mark RNLI's 200th anniversary

Whitby-based Dogwood Productions is one of just two theatre companies nationally which will partner with the RNLI to celebrate the occasion – and they plan a new musical that will include stories of the town’s lifeboats over the years.

The anniversary date is March 4, so this announcement comes on the 199th anniversary, a number familiar in Whitby with its iconic flight of 199 Steps up to Whitby Abbey.

The plan is that the production will be premiered in the town, before touring the north of England.

The project, called Facing The Waves, has started with new recordings of Whitby people talking about living in a maritime town, undertaken by BBC Radio Tees with the support of the charity, Creative Lives.

These will help shape the final show and have been supported by the National Lottery Heritage Fund.

Many of the interviews will be heard on BBC Radio Tees in the coming weeks and they will all be kept as part of Whitby Town Museum’s audio archive, so that future generations will be able to conjure up a picture of Whitby as it is now.

Dogwood Director, Antony Bellekom, said: “The lifeboat in Whitby is at the heart of the town and we know the community are proud of and grateful for the service it has given over so many years.

“The lifeboat 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 people creating theatre, with an amazing richness of stories.

"But it’s not all about the past: just as the seas off our coast will always have the potential to take lives, the tradition of volunteering goes on and that is something we will certainly want to reflect.”

The RNLI is independent of Coastguard and government and depends on voluntary donations and legacies to maintain its rescue service.

Since the RNLI was founded in 1824, its lifeboat crews and lifeguards have saved over 142,700 lives.