Children of the Sea

Children of the Sea by Mike Gibb tells the fascinating true story about how the small Scottish fishing town of Eyemouth was devasted by the loss of almost its entire fishing fleet to a storm in 1881. It’s told from the point of view of the Mitchell family, who lose their son in the disaster, and highlights the hard existence of the people in the fishing industry and how their lives are so often touched by tragedy.

We were greeted by an excellent set (credit to the Highbury Cowboys) divided into two thirds the interior of the Mitchell’s house and one third the outside, with a stage extension at the front making a very realistic looking quayside. The set was well lit throughout by Ben White, who also produced some excellent sound effects, especially during the storm scene, which included some fans at the side of the stage to hint at the wind – ingenious. Costumes (Pam Phipps and Gosport Gang Show) were well thought out, especially for the ladies, and some of the men even had button on braces. All good attention to detail.

Amy Gould made a wonderful Cath, matriarch of the Mitchell family, very much in charge but blessed with a lovely sense of humour. Her grief at the end of the play was palpable and heartbreaking. Man of the house Willie was well played by Chris Wrein, with great comic timing for his many humorous moments. He had a gruff exterior but a heart of gold and seemed to love being bossed around by his wife, despite his protests. Their daughter Jenny was played with great realism by Georgia Davies, and you could see she would turn into her mother by the way she treated Davie, her nervous fiancé, a nice portrayal by Stuart Dickenson. We really felt his anguish at the end when he revealed that he had only survived because he had been too afraid to go out on the boat.

Liam Peters made son Peter Mitchell very happy-go- lucky, pleased to be taking over the fishing boat from his injured father, and Dene Woods gave a most realistic interpretation of Willie’s brother George, still getting over the loss of his wife and recovering from his injuries in an earlier tragedy – his scene with Willie, reminiscing on the quayside, was very touching.

Strong support was given by the rest of the cast, and I must particularly mention the superb background acting by the ladies sitting on the sofa. Very natural and unforced. The cast came together well at the end as they anxiously awaited news of the fate of the fishing fleet, very much mirroring the memorial to the disaster in Eyemouth pictured on the front of the programme.

Roger Mitchell’s narration at the start and end of the play served to ground it in reality and remind us that this sad event really did take place, leaving 107 widows and 351 fatherless children. We were all moved and sobered by these facts, and I felt that Mike Gibb’s play was a fitting tribute to these brave fishermen and their families. Thank you Highbury Players for bringing this story to life so well.

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