Young performers in black and white costumes pose outdoors on a seafront promenade, brandishing prop swords beneath bright blue sky and white cliffs.

Samphire Hoe, Dover2025

Voyage of Their Lives

The Production

The Marlowe Theatre’s 2025 Associate Schools Programme production with the Royal Shakespeare Company brought Kent and Medway students to Samphire Hoe in Dover for a site-specific sequence of sea-themed Shakespeare scenes. Performed along the shoreline, Voyage of Their Lives framed the young actors as castaways sharing their stories on the beach.

47 photographs in the curated edit

Director: Callum Donnelly
Commissioned by: The Marlowe Theatre Associate Schools Programme
Photography: Steve Gregson

A young performer in a brown and cream period-style costume gestures with open arms on outdoor concrete steps.

Small groups gather across a wide stepped concrete promenade beneath towering white cliffs on a bright coastal day.

Young performers move with blue fabric streamers and black bird puppets, while one wears a green cloak and crown outdoors.

A large indoor workshop group stands with arms raised together in a bright hall with exposed wooden beams.

Participants on grass hold a large black sheet aloft like a wave while children crawl underneath and others watch from chairs.

A young performer in a white T-shirt stands with arms flung wide and mouth open, with other children behind her on outdoor steps.

Two performers in white dresses stand on a small round platform on a seafront promenade, framed by sweeping white cliffs.

A group of young performers in caps, sunglasses, muddy white shirts, and black trousers dance in formation outdoors beneath the cliffs.

A smiling child in a wheelchair holds a brightly decorated object while an adult beside him looks on in a sunny grassy setting.

An outdoor ensemble in black costumes gathers on a concrete promenade, with blue sashes, a gold crown, and orange fishing nets adding bright theatrical detail.

A performer in a torn, stained shirt shields her eyes and calls out, while others in white tops, sailor hats, neckerchiefs, and tinted sunglasses stand behind her on the grass.

A wide seaside performance scene shows an audience gathered in a semicircle as performers in black move and crouch across the open concrete promenade.

A lively grassy performance scene with performers waving blue, white, and yellow fabric, fans, and a painted parasol as bubbles drift through the group.

A child in a white shirt stands blindfolded while another child holds their sleeve and speaks to them, with other performers stretching pale fabric in the background.

On stepped concrete below white cliffs, most performers lie scattered across the levels while two performers stand facing each other at the centre.

A performer in a white T-shirt looks upward with both hands raised, set against a green hillside and picnic table in an intimate outdoor moment.

A group of performers pose and point dramatically on the promenade, including one in a silver hooded costume holding an oversized green bottle prop.

A young performer sits alone in long grass hugging her knees, with scattered costume pieces and props lying nearby.

Three young performers in black pose energetically on and around a circular concrete block, with sunlit white cliffs and blue sky behind them.

Two young performers smile and point upward in the foreground, with other children and a draped fabric prop behind them outdoors.

A large group of young performers in black run across a concrete promenade, trailing pale fabric streamers beneath white cliffs and a bright sky.

A young performer sits in long grass playing an accordion, with windblown hair and chalk cliffs rising behind them.

Children in bright red, green and blue shirts perform on outdoor steps, holding poles and lifting a billowing blue cloth while one holds a round shield marked with a cross.

Two young performers face each other on an outdoor stage area, pressing black prop swords together in a staged confrontation.

An audience watches from the left as a group of young performers gather on broad concrete steps beneath sweeping white cliffs.

A young performer in sunglasses and a cap gestures with both hands, wearing a mud-stained white shirt as others in matching caps move behind them.

A lively group points upward together on the promenade, with some in red-and-white striped costumes and one holding a large green bottle prop.

Two children wearing paper crowns stand at the front with serious expressions, while other young performers are blurred behind them.

A group of young performers in black move in a dance sequence on outdoor steps, with arms extended and one holding a tambourine and beater.

A smiling young performer in a red top waves yellow-orange fabric flags in a grassy outdoor setting, with others gathered nearby, including a wheelchair user, as bubbles float past.

A young performer in a white T-shirt with a pale cloth over one shoulder gestures outward while speaking against a sunny backdrop of grass and white cliffs.

On a seafront concrete promenade, performers in bright green shirts stand in a line facing a crowd, with pink tape marking the performance area beside the ocean.

Five young performers in black outfits and beanies smile while holding white and blue fishing nets on a coastal path with cliffs behind them.

Two young performers pose in the grass near white cliffs, one raising a toy sword with a shield and helmet, the other lifting a fist while holding a blue bucket.

Four performers in pale pink and white shirts hunch forward clutching their stomachs, their faces strained in a dramatic outdoor moment.

Three costumed performers move toward the audience on a sunlit seafront promenade, reaching out with animated expressions.

Six performers dressed in black strike triumphant poses on a concrete plinth and steps, with white cliffs and bright blue sky behind them.

Children in neutral-toned costumes perform indoors, with a girl in glasses clasping her hands in the foreground as others bend and move behind her.

Three performers sit behind green camouflage netting on outdoor steps, with two in black T-shirts throwing their arms upward while the middle performer has cloth draped over their head.

Young performers face off outdoors beneath white cliffs, with one in a naval-style jacket and another in a red coat with a heavy chain-like prop while others crouch and watch.

A large group of young performers pose on seaside steps with cliffs behind them, raising props including black bird puppets, netting, hats and costume pieces in bright daylight.

Young performers in black costumes gesture with outstretched arms during an outdoor scene, set against grassy cliffs in strong sunlight.

A seated child in a bright orange shirt holds red and yellow ribbon streamers while two others sit nearby in a sunny grassy outdoor setting.

A young performer in black lifts a gold crown high above their head as other black-clad performers watch on an outdoor paved area by grassy slopes.

Three smiling children stand together in front of white cliffs, holding ice creams, flowers and a water bottle during a relaxed outdoor moment.

Children in white shirts with sea-themed designs reach their arms upward and sing or shout during an energetic outdoor performance moment.

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