Poignant, beautifully written and tenderly told, How To Be Brave is a play that weaves together the contemporary story of a mother battling to save her child's life with an extraordinary true account of bravery and a fight for survival in the Second World War.

When Katy was ten years old and threatened with a life changing illness, her mum, Louise, made a bargain with her - if she could tell her a good enough story, Katy would agree to have her treatment.

Louise told the story of Colin Armitage whose ship was torpedoed in the South Atlantic in 1943. He and 13 others scrambled aboard a life raft. 50 days later HMS Rapid rescued him, only he and one other still alive.

Louise Beech is the playwright, granddaughter to Colin Armitage and mother to Katy Beech.

The scenes alternate between the life raft and Katy’s house in Hull.

The story was subject of a BBC programme:.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/programm...