On a Shout

Synopsis

This is The Point: a place at the end of the world where crashing waves, Force-10 gales and sinking boats are enough to keep an East Yorkshire lifeboat crew occupied 24/7. Meet Cooky, a loveable rogue with an eye for the ladies, inept new recruit Dobbo, and Jo - a woman doing a job which, as far as the lads are concerned, is a man’s job. No wonder George, who's been living this life for nigh on 40 years, is tearing his hair out….or what’s left of it! History and heroes from the past keep turning up to remind them that this is a job for supermen and that danger hangs over every mission. Join our dazzling R.N.L.I crews at The Point as their pagers bleep, they pull on their waterproofs and head out into the unknown. This present crop of life-savers have a lot to live up to and, for George, this is one last chance to play the hero. For the others, well, who knows what fate might have in store...

Our Review:

28 January 2008

It’s not unusual for new plays at Hull Truck to begin with the more or less realistic portrayal of a varied and typical group of workers in, or somewhere near, Hull, but the development of this situation is less predictable. On a Shout, written by Dave Windass about the RNLI, is a particularly impressive mix of entertainment, moving celebration of the lifeboat service and powerful stage re-creation of a unique part of East Yorkshire life.

The “fictional drama inspired by real-life events” is set on Spurn Point, the last of England, where the Humber and the North Sea meet, home to the only full-time lifeboat crew in the country. Windass starts with a fairly conventional dramatic contrivance: the arrival of the first female crew member and the reactions of veteran coxswain, reliable deputy, Jack-the-lad mechanic and unworldly intellectual trainee.

From the drama of the final “shout” (call-out) of retiring coxswain George’s career, flashbacks presen...

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