The 306: Day

The second part of Oliver Emanuel and Gareth William’s powerful new First World War trilogy exploring how the war affected women, families, and communities on the home front.
The 306: Day is the second part of Oliver Emanuel and Gareth William’s powerful new First World War trilogy, charting the heart-breaking journey of the 306 men executed for cowardice and desertion during the conflict and the devastating consequences for those they left behind. This second part in the trilogy explores how the war affected women, families, and communities on the home front.
The first part of the trilogy, The 306: Dawn, premiered in the summer of 2016 and was set around the events of the Battle of the Somme, marking the centenary of the Somme Offensive. Audaciously staged within a transformed barn in the Perthshire countryside, and co-produced with Perth Theatre and 14-18 NOW, the play charted the real-life stories of three soldiers fighting on the front line who were to be executed for their actions.
Inspired by real events and first-hand accounts, The 306: Day follows the lives of three ordinary women fighting to be heard above the clamour of World War 1. The date is 1917, and the war across the channel rages on. In Russia, a revolution is turning the social order on its head while at home in Britain, there are women fighting their own battles. Rents are rising. Food is scarce. And war work can be deadly.
Nellie Murray works at a Glasgow munitions factory but is also a member of the Women’s Peace Crusade.
Struggling to cope after the execution of her husband for cowardice, Gertrude Farr has a young daughter and doesn’t know where to turn.
Mrs Byers waits for news of her son. He ran off to join the army at the beginning of the war and she prays for word of his safe return.
The 306: Day is a new piece of music theatre about staying silent and speaking out, fighting for peace and giving into violence. It tells the forgotten story of three women in wartime and their struggle to survive in a world that won’t listen.
“(The) most brilliantly moving of elegies”– ***** The Herald on The 306: Dawn
“An indelibly powerful work of music theatre that will have an impact for many years to come”- **** The Scotsman on The 306: Dawn
Join the conversation: #The306
Gallery
[AFG_gallery id='27']Reviews
“captures the sense of ordinary lives enduring extraordinary circumstances…contentious, rousing.”
“The music and song is sometimes almost overwhelming, the movement eloquent, the cast so fiercely committed to the story that they glow with a kind of angry incandescence.”
“Jemima Levick’s production is a beautifully conceived construction.”
“Intimate production that brings a vitality to stories of the women on the home front in the First World War.”
Blog
- May 30, 2018Quines – join together for the biggest celebratory participation artwork
- May 17, 2018Memorial to be unveiled in Princes St Gardens to commemorate Conscientious Objectors
- May 10, 2018CATS Awards 2018 – shortlist announced with nomination for The 306 Day
- May 16, 2017Audiences responses to The 306: Day
- May 15, 2017Conscientious Objectors In Their Own Words
- May 12, 2017An insight into a true family story at the heart of The 306:Day
- May 8, 2017Four star reviews in for The 306: Day
- May 2, 2017The process of creating music and lyrics from letters written by and to women during WW1
- May 2, 2017Jemima Levick and The 306: Day writer Oliver Emanuel discuss women & war with The Herald
- May 2, 2017The importance of being dangerous: Lesley Orr pays tribute to the unsung Scotswomen who fought for peace and justice during WWI in The Herald
- May 2, 2017Finding out more about The 306: Day at Glasgow Women’s Library
- April 26, 2017A sneak peek into The 306:Day rehearsals