OUR LITTLE HOUR Comes to Greenwich Theatre London and UK Tour

Show Racism the Red Card - the UK's leading anti-racism educational charity - has commissioned a new musical drama for Black History Month as part of a campaign to redress a grave injustice dating back to events that took place in January 1917 during The First World War.

Our Little Hour which will tour the UK this October tells the inspirational story of how Walter Tull - the grandson of a Barbadian slave and orphaned at just eight years old - rose to prominence against all odds. The first black footballer to play at the highest level of the domestic game in the UK, he went on to achieve another historic breakthrough as the first man of his heritage to be commissioned as an Officer in the British Army.

In spite of these extraordinary achievements, successive British governments have failed to acknowledge the full extent of Walter Tull’s pioneering contribution to British History, and it was redressing the injustice of such treatment that playwright Dougie Blaxland says motivated him “when researching and writing the book and lyrics for Our Little Hour.”

Blaxland maintains that “in spite of the warm words of praise and the public unveiling of plaques and a statue dedicated to Walter Tull’s memory, a key moment in the former Spurs’ star’s life is all too often conveniently glossed over - and it is the dramatisation of this that lies at the heart of Our Little Hour.

The event that Dougie Blaxland refers to occurred on January 1st 1917 when Walter Tull became the first Black British Military Officer to lead his men in combat. It was during the North Italian Campaign and Walter led  his platoon across the freezing cold Piave river in a daring raid on enemy lines. On his return - having achieved his objective with all 26 of his men safe and unharmed - he received a citation for “gallantry and coolness under fire” and was recommended for The Military Cross by his commanding officer. 

Nevertheless, as Dougie Blaxland points out - “in spite of irrefutable documentary evidence that substantiates Walter Tull’s entitlement to The Military Cross the award has still not been made.”

The omission is, of course, all the more poignant because Walter Tull was tragically killed just weeks before the end of the War at the Second Battle of the Somme. And it is in this context that Blaxland hopes that “ Our Little Hour - which includes 18 hauntingly beautiful new songs by celebrated composer Chris Anthony - will inspire audiences to join the campaign to overturn a blatant injustice that has clouded Walter Tull’s great legacy for more than a hundred years.”  

The full schedule for the tour of Our Little Hour is as follows:

Our Little Hour Tour Dates and Venues

8th to 10th Oct – Everyman Theatre, Cheltenham – The Irving Studio – 7.30pm Box Office 01242 572573

11th & 12th Oct – Burton Taylor Studio, Oxford Playhouse – 7.30pm (Matinee at 2.30pm on 12th Oct) Box Office 01865 305305

15th to 19th Oct – Ustinov Studio Theatre, Royal Bath – 7.30pm Box Office 01225 448844

22nd & 23rd Oct – The Greenwich Theatre, London – 7.30pm (Matinee at 2.30pm on 23rd Oct) Box Office 020 88587755

24th Oct – New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth – 2.30pm Box Office 023 92649000

26th Oct – Derby Theatre Studio – 2.30pm & 7.30pm Box Office 01332 593939

29th Oct – South Street Studio, Reading – 7.30pm Box Office 0118 9606060

30th Oct – Theatre Royal, Wakefield – 7.30pm Box Office 01924 211311

31st Oct to 2nd Nov – Royal and Derngate, Northampton – 7.30pm (Matinee at 2.30pm on 2nd Nov) Box Office 01604 624811

 

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