Lilies on the Land

Four Women – Click to enlarge – Keith Busha photo

SJCT Winter Play Tells Story of “The Forgotten Army”

While the men were off fighting, the women kept their country fed. San Juan Community Theatre showcases Great Britain’s Women’s Land Army in the play, Lilies on the Land, presented on the Whittier stage February 28, March 1-2 and 6-9.

The play charts the personal journey of four women, played by islanders

• Patti Bair
• Cori Morrell
• Pat Rishel
• and Joy Van Camp

who signed up for the endless hours of backbreaking farm work in order to do their best for the war effort during World War II. Based on 150 letters and interviews with original “land girls,” the characters come from different walks of life, all having volunteered to leave their families and the basic comforts of home behind to deal with the hardships of farming life and the pressures of war.

Director Julie Laidlaw says “there was something about the energy required by these women to do their part for the war that struck me as important and moving.”

Featuring songs from the period, as well as Silent Night sung in German, Italian and English, the play provides a revealing, funny and moving portrait of some of Britain’s unsung heroes.

The Business Partner for Lilies on the Land is Earthbox Inn & Spa. Tickets are $19 for adults, $10 for student reserved and $5 student RUSH at the door. The SJCT box office is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

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