The 306: Dawn

Oliver Emanuel

• Publisher: Oberon Books
• Year: 2016
• Print ISBN: 9781783197699
• eBook ISBN: 9781783197705
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Literature
• Subtopic: Drama
• Index: Literature

The 306: Dawn is a new piece of music theatre from the National Theatre of Scotland. Based on real events, it charts the heart-breaking journey of three of the three hundred and six British soldiers who were executed for cowardice, desertion and mutiny during World War I (1914-18). ' You are a fucking coward and you will go to the trenches. I give fuck all for my life and I give fuck all for yours and I'll get you fucking well shot' – Sergeant to Harry Farr. Joseph Byers (17) from Glasgow.
Too young to enlist, Joe, like so many at the time, has lied about his age to join the other men at the front. However, his dreams of being a solider are quickly destroyed by the brutal realities of trench warfare and he soon finds himself in trouble with the authorities. Private Harry Farr (25) from London.
Traumatised by the things he has seen and lived through as a serving soldier, Harry is suffering from shell shock and is now unable to fight. He has subsequently been convicted of cowardice, and as he waits to hear his fate, he dreams of his wife and hopes for a last minute reprieve. Lance-Sergeant Joseph Willie Stones (24) from Durham.
Having used his rifle to block the entrance to a trench during fierce fighting, Joseph stands accused of casting away his arms in combat - an offence punishable by death. He thought he was protecting his men, but the top brass want to make an example of him to maintain discipline in the ranks. With a contemporary score performed live by the Red Note Ensemble, the songs explore the vulnerability and devastation of the battlefields, alongside the inner struggles of the men. Poignant and powerful, The 306: Dawn will be performed in a transformed barn in the Perthshire countryside.

1.

HARRY, JOSEPH and WILLIE.

ALL	I have no name no name. Shot at dawn, grave unmarked. I have no name. Cut me out, cut me out like a wart like an eye. I have no name. I have no name.

2.

Early morning. The sun is shining.

HARRY and GERTRUDE lie in bed. They’re both in their mid-twenties, working class, from London. They are kissing.

GERTRUDE pushes him away and gets out of bed. She picks up her scattered clothes and dresses.

HARRY whistles.

HARRY	What’s your name?
GERTRUDE	Cheeky.
HARRY	Me?
GERTRUDE	You’re a bad man, Harry Farr.
HARRY	Guilty as charged.
GERTRUDE	What kind of girl do you think I am? You whistle and I come running.
HARRY	What a world that would be, eh?
GERTRUDE	I’m a respectable married woman, I’ll have you know. I’ve got a nice house and a kid.
HARRY	Never! I don’t believe it! You’re still sixteen to me…
GERTRUDE	In your dreams.
HARRY	Come back to bed.
GERTRUDE	I can’t spend all day on my back.
HARRY	Why not?
He whistles. She laughs.
HARRY	Don’t you remember when you were working in the big house in Kensington? I’d call round for you on Sundays. That bitch mistress never wanted you out of her sight so I’d stand round the corner and whistle.
GERTRUDE	She wasn’t a bitch. She was looking out for me.
HARRY	She thought you were too good for me.
GERTRUDE	And so I was!
HARRY	You’re a cruel woman.
GERTRUDE	I could have been a lady’s maid by now. I could be earning proper money, not slumming it with a common soldier.
HARRY	What would you do with money?
GERTRUDE	I know exactly what I’d do.
HARRY	Tell me.
GERTRUDE	I’d buy lots of hats. A hat for every month of the year. Every week. Every day. Yes! I’d have a different hat for every different day of the week and two for church on Sunday. I’d have a special room in my house for all the hats and I’d only wear them once and give them away to the needy.
HARRY	You’re cuckoo.
G...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title Page
• Title Page
• Copyright
• Dedication
• Acknowledgements
• Contents
• 1.
• Afterword: Naming the dead