Tavonians Theatre Company has created a new theatre production for all to enjoy during a time when there are no live performances taking place.

The company has weaved together a 45 minute audio drama entitled Life Stories, which was recorded during lockdown in the individual homes of cast members and is now available as a podcast.

Despite the restrictions, Tavonians has been able to create the play which convincingly portrays an outdoor event with music, during which some of the guests chat about their early lives, mostly during the 1940s. Each of the characters has been blended from real-life memories of several elderly residents of Tavistock, which were told to volunteers of the Life Stories Project which is a part of Tavistock Area Support Services.

The production was drawn together by a working group which read through more than a hundred stories to pick out themes and interesting character traits which could form a drama.

The theatre company was originally planning a live theatre performance before everything had to change due to coronavirus.

In order to still bring the production to audiences, the original script was tweaked by writer Kit Walkham to make it in to an audio production. The script blends together interesting extracts from many stories to form the fictional characters, which are played by Marnie Smith, Jodie Kent, Stuart Waterworth, Paul Kent and Angela Lord.

The musical interludes were recorded for the production by Rosemary Turner who sings enigmatic and beautiful wartime songs. The producer is Ali Fife Cook, with logistics by Simon Thompson and edited by Joe Thompson.

Life Stories can be listened to free at any time, either by searching for the Tavonians Theatre Company podcast, or just at the click of a button on the Tavonians’ website, www.tavonians.org.uk