Into the Night

The Story of The Penlee lifeboat.

by Frazer Flintham
Based on the book Penlee: The Loss of a Lifeboat by Michael Sagar-Fenton
Directed by Alastair Whatley
Designed by Michael Pavelka, Camera direction by North South Culture, Sound by Dominic Bilkey, Music by James Findlay

A unique theatrical performance broadcast live on Saturday 18 December at 5.30pm (GMT)

“If ever there was an example of the sea at its worst and humanity at its best, then it is the story of the loss of the Penlee Lifeboat” Peter Goss MBE, Sailor and Adventurer

40 years later, their bravery lives on.

On Saturday 19 December 1981, the Penlee lifeboat ‘Solomon Browne’, was launched in hurricane conditions to go to the aid of the coaster ‘Union Star’ which was being swept towards the southern coast of Cornwall. What followed ranks not only with the greatest acts of courage in the history of the RNLI, but with any human achievement.

Marking 40 years since the rescue, Into the Night is a unique theatrical experience broadcast live on Saturday 18 December 2021.

Written by screenwriter and playwright Frazer Flintham, adapted from Penlee RNLI volunteer and author Michael Sagar-Fenton’s 1991 book, Penlee, directed by Alastair Whatley and produced by the team behind Birdsong Online and Apollo 13, Into the Night promises to be an unforgettable evening, as people from all over the world are invited to join with a live audience to remember the courage, dedication and heroism of the Penlee lifeboat crew.

The cast includes Hubert Burton (The Inheritance), Tom Chambers (Father Brown, Holby City, Apollo 13: The Dark Side of The Moon), Cornish actor Robert Duncan (Drop The Dead Donkey, Casualty, Twelve Angry Men), Madeleine Knight (Poldark), Robert Mountford (The Habit of Art), Cornish actor Susan Penhaligon (The Mousetrap, A Fine Romance, Emmerdale), Hazel Simmons and Tim Treloar (Birdsong, The Haunting of Alice Bowles, Bombshell).

If you can’t watch live you can purchase the on-demand production (streaming online from 6 Jan 2021).