Date: 23rd April

Time: 7:30pm

Location: Hartismere School

See Poster for more information.

Eastern Angles presents a fascinating and moving new theatre production telling the wartime story of what happened when thousands of American GIs arrived in rural East Anglia.

In May 1942, the first Eighth U.S. Army Air Force aeroplanes arrived in East Anglia. With them came thousands of black and white American GIs who, in some places, outnumbered the local population by 50 to 1. This unique moment in history, often referred to as ‘the friendly invasion’, had a huge impact on social and cultural life in the Eastern region and it’s a story that’s in danger of being forgotten.

Nylons, Hershey bars and jitterbugging to Swing Bands in the local village hall all feature in Polly Wiseman’s new play, but there was another side to this shared history – a tale of segregation and of rural communities turned upside down. Kids being forced to grow up before their time, friendships forged and then blown apart, and outsiders learning to live amongst the locals …