‘Conchies’ play opens at Edinburgh Fringe
A play about conscientious objectors has opened at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival
A play based on a Lincolnshire pacifist community that included several Quakers who grew up around the villages of Holton-cum-Beckering and Legsby, opened at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.
Conchies! features the sole surviving Quaker conscientious objector (CO) from the Lincolnshire pacifist community during the second world war, Donald Sutherland, who is now ninety-nine years old.
Ian Sharp, who wrote the play, told the Friend: ‘We reckon he’s got to be the oldest performer ever in the long history of the Fringe. Basically, he stands up at one point and takes over from the actor who is playing him and speaks his own words, which never fails to surprise the audience.’
Conchies!, which is based on the testimonies of many COs and their families, runs at Edinburgh Meeting House until 18 August.
