BOUND on an errand of mercy to Belgium, the British hospital ship Rohilla foundered in a terrible gale on the rocks only a few hundred yards off Whitby on October 30 1914.

One hundred years on from the astonishing deeds of the Whitby community that rallied together to rescue passengers and crew, a York ensemble of actors will fuse together real and imagined characters in a new drama by York playwright Graham Sanderson, who was inspired by the true events of one of the greatest rescue attempts in the history of the Royal National Lifeboat Institution.

To mark the centenary of the sinking of HMHS Rohilla, York Settlement Community Players will stage the world premiere of Sanderson’s play, Rohilla, in Whitby, Scarborough and York over the next three weekends, fittingly starting at the James Cook Theatre in the Whitby Coliseum Centre with 2.30pm and 7.30pm performances tomorrow.

The wreck of the Rohilla forms the historical backdrop to Sanderson's fictional stories of Amy Potts and Charlie Porter, as the young woman writes to her sweetheart at the Front. "Both are touched by the outbreak of the First World War as Charlie faces the horror of the trenches, while Amy finds herself at the centre of the Rohilla rescues led by the Whitby lifeboat," says Graham. "Both will discover that their world has changed forever."

The playwright has been drawn to the Rohilla rescue story since the 1980s, culminating in writing the play.

"A former colleague, Ray Beecroft, mentioned the story to me and that set me going to find out more," he says.

"What first of all fascinated me was that here was a situation that ended up involving the whole Whitby community because the ship was so close to shore. It's not often that something happens where there's an engagement with the whole town.

"The other thing that struck is the sheer determination of the people of Whitby; it's the almost bloody-mindedness they showed in the face of a perilous sea in one heck of a storm. Eighty four people died but 145 people were saved; the ship's captain, Captain David Neilson, was the last to leave, carrying the ship's cat."

When settling down to write the play, Graham had to decide where his focus should lie. "If you're not careful, it becomes a one-direction narrative; the tension of whether they'll be rescued, but the real story is that people were making superhuman efforts to save others, when 300 miles away the British and the Germans were firing at each other," he says.

"Men are both heroes and killers. On the one hand, men are making a difference in rescuing people, doing all they can for people they don't know; on the other, they are helpless in the situation of being caught up in fighting a war "

Hence the story of the fictional Amy and Charlie. "I thought that if I created a fictional girl in Whitby with a sweetheart in the Green Howards, you could look at their relationship, starting with her seeing him off, and she then becomes our way into the war," says Graham.

"When we reach the climax of the rescue, she still hasn't heard from him from the Front, and it makes the whole series of events different for her because she realises the fragility of life. She also becomes increasingly angry because while there is the heroism of rescuing people from the sea, at the same there are people fighting each other on the Front."

The Settlement production features specially commissioned music by musical director Oliver Mills and is directed by Jan Kirk. "The angle I've taken with it is that it's a human story," she says. "When I first heard the story of Rohilla and Graham asked me to direct his play, what stood out was the enormous courage and tenacity of the people of Whitby."

Physical endeavour would be important in the production. "We made the decision that we would create our own sound effects for the storm, which we'll do with big sheets of polythene that will come from the back of the stage and go over the actors," she says.

"Elizabeth Nolan has come on board as the movement director, doing a lot of work with Jan and our cast of ten," says Graham, emphasising the importance of physicality in the piece.

"There isn't a set; we just have set dressing; ropes, fish boxes, lobster pots, nets. There's no Rohilla or other boats on stage, which immediately frees you up because, from the start, the audience won't be expecting to see something that's a real representation. More than anything, theatre can use imagination."
 

  • York Settlement Community Players present Rohilla at Whitby Coliseum Centre tomorrow at 2.30pm and 7.30pm; Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough, November 16, 3pm; Friargate Theatre, York, November 21, 7.30pm, and November 22, 2pm and 7.30pm. Box office: Whitby, 01947 825000 or coliseumcentre.org; Scarborough, 01723 370541 or sjt.uk.com; York, 01904 613000 or ridinglights.org/rohilla/
     
  • Please note, a portion of the production's profits will go to the RNLI; the Scarborough performance came about through the support of the RNLI.
     
  • Footage of the sinking of HMHS Rohilla can be found at britishpathe.com/video/hospital-ship-rohilla-aka-rescue-of-survivors-from/query/347308