'Stage performances face many more obstacles in the primitive atmosphere of a prisoner of war camp, where costumes and properties must be improvised, female characters impersonated, and lighting, sound effects, scenery and all other requisites devised. That these obstacles were overcome was a major triumph.' Interlude: The story of British Prisoners of War in Stammlager VIIIA at G�rlitz in Lower Silesia, Germany, London, 1945, p. 25
'We had a marvellous section of actors and they put on plays �we did shows by Wilde... always something with a comic touch. The guys, they knew how important humour was � we all liked to laugh, that was what kept us going I guess�. They'd put on a show for a week at a time, and they made all the stage props - marvellous stuff - just out of cardboard and packing cases and debris that was around the camp and they'd paint it up, it was lifelike, marvellous! And the shows were really good.' From George Trundle interview.
Programme for Stalag VIIIA, 1944/45:
22 February: 1944 Blithe Spirit
7 March: Pot Pourri
21 March: Here We Go
11 April: Gaslight
25 April: The Bumbles of Bumbleton
18 May: Once a Crook
30 May: Whizz-Bang
14 June: Youth at the Helm
27 June: Melody Parade
19 July: Hay Fever
3 August: New Edition
17 August: The Milky Way
29 August: Ermatrude�s Follies
12 September & 24 October: The Man Who Came to Dinner
30 December: Choose Your Shoes
15 January 1945: Musical Highlights
The Dramatic Society at G�rlitz also held regular play readings and a Shakespeare Reading Group functioned with readings supplemented by talks on the history of drama and on Shakespearean literature in general.
