Photo Flash: Corrib Theatre presents the Northwest Premiere of LIFEBOAT

By: A.A. Cristi Jan. 12, 2018

With a bracing true story of determination and hope, Corrib Theatre and Northwest Children's Theater present Nicola McCartney's Lifeboat. Directed by Avital Shira and starring Kayla Lian and Britt Harris, this riveting play by an award-winning Irish playwright runs for four weeks, January 12 through February 4, at Northwest Children's Theater.

Lifeboat is the extraordinary true story of Bess Walder and Beth Cummings. Set during World War II, it is a story of courage, a story of survival and a story of enduring friendship.

On Friday the thirteenth of September 1940, a ship, The City of Benares, set sail from Liverpool bound for Canada. On board were 90 child evacuees escaping the relentless bombing and dangers of war torn Britain. Four days into the crossing, the ship was torpedoed and sank. Only 11 children aboard survived. Of those few, two young girls, Bess Walder (15) and Beth Cummings (14), clung to life as they spent 19 terrifying hours in the water on an upturned lifeboat. With the hopes and dreams upon which they'd set sail, they buoyed one another's spirits with stories of home, family and adventure. Bess and Beth inspired each other to survive. Lifeboat tells their story.

"At its core, Lifeboat is a play about resilience," said play Director Avital Shira. "These two young women defy the odds through connection, story and the will to save the other to ultimately survive longer than humans should be able in the middle of the Atlantic. The world is dark at the moment, and it's especially important now to harness the power of human resilience and remind ourselves that if we find our common humanity, we have the ability to keep each other afloat."

Brown Paper Tickets: 800-838-3006 or https://corriblifeboat.brownpapertickets.com/

Photo Flash: Corrib Theatre presents the Northwest Premiere of LIFEBOAT Image
Britt Harris (Beth)

Photo Flash: Corrib Theatre presents the Northwest Premiere of LIFEBOAT Image
Kayla Lian (Bess) & Britt Harris (Beth)

Photo Flash: Corrib Theatre presents the Northwest Premiere of LIFEBOAT Image
Kayla Lian (Bess)

Photo Flash: Corrib Theatre presents the Northwest Premiere of LIFEBOAT Image
Kayla Lian (Bess) & Britt Harris (Beth)

View all Videos

Oregon SHOWS

	Join us for the 2026–2027 Season Portland Center Stage at The Armory (9/27-6/27)
	Hands on a Hardbody Lakewood Theatre Company (7/10-8/16)
	Into the Woods Mt Hood Repertory Theatre (8/07-8/23)
	Bluey’s Big Play Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall (10/12-10/12)
	Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue Paramount Theater Ashland (11/04-11/04)
	Clue Keller Auditorium (3/02-3/07)
	SIX (Boleyn Tour) Hult Center (4/30-5/02)
	Jaja's African Hair Braiding Clackamas Repertory Theatre (9/10-10/04)
	NT Live: The Playboy of the Western World Third Rail at PAM CUT's Tomorrow Theater (8/23-8/23)
	Oregon State Beavers vs. Montana Grizzlies Reser Stadium (9/19-9/19)
View All Shows Add a Show