‘The Night Witches’ will be a play exploring the incredible courage of the women of the only all-female 588th Night Bomber Regiment who flew night bombing missions on the Russian / German front during WWII facing not just the enemy below, but also the enemy of sexism from other regiments and the paranoia of the communist state which saw sabotage and betrayal in every shadow, every letter home. The play will explore: the private lives and experiences of women at war, the intimate relationships that developed within the ranks (at a time when acts of homesexuaity were punishable by imprisonment and ‘re-training’), the psyche of the soviet women during this patriotic war and the post war treatment of these heroes.