Heroes

We first meet Gustave and Henri (Peter Stevens and Andrew Robinson) who are sitting on the terrace staring blankly into space while Philippe (Darren Thomas) is reading Le Monde. Gustave and Henri straight away get into a meaningless argument over whether the month of August is worth talking about. The impressive wall behind the terrace appears to stretch on to infinity, a static set but superb design (Steve Lucas and Stewart Currie).

The three men, are World War I veterans in their 60s or 70s living in a French war veterans' hospital run by nuns in 1959. Gustave, a recent arrival, is a cranky fellow who yearns to be somewhere else. Philippe, who took some shrapnel, has a wry sense of humour but keeps passing out, without warning. Henri, who has a bad leg, is more cheerful than the others, often putting him at odds with Gustave. They pass their time in complaint and idle chit-chat, until one day the idea of escaping to a grove of poplars swaying in the distance takes hold of their imaginations. It's a futile dream, of course, but serves to give the play some forward momentum.

The cast has an enormous amount of acting experience between them. They took the challenge and it worked.Steve Lukas directed this play to a high standard, a difficult subject to stage, but with his good choice of actors and directing skill, he succeeded.

It's worth noting that Tom Stoppard had a hand in this script, but not one of his better ones. Well done.

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