Heroes

I had the privilege of attending the performance at Oldbury Rep of “Heroes”. Tom Stoppard adapted Gérald Sibleyras’ French play into English. It follows three old soldiers in a home for disabled war veterans. They pass the days reminiscing, scheming and dreaming of escape.

We meet our highly entertaining trio: Gustave played to perfection by Keith Thompson, who suffers from a crippling agoraphobia. Chris Broad’s Henri, the longest serving resident, was superbly portrayed with the added touch of his gammy leg. And Philippe played by Mark Moran with excellent comedy timing especially when he periodically passes out because of a piece of shrapnel lodged in his brain, sometimes conveniently when a tricky situation arises. In scenes reminiscent of Last of the Summer Wine, their mutually whining friendship is tested when Gustave conceives an improbable escape plan that will take them to a distant poplar-lined hill – highly unlikely for an agoraphobic! One area of agreement is in their combined loathing of their nemesis, the matriarch Nun of the home – the unseen, but often vilified, Sister Madeline! Not forgetting the fourth silent compatriot, the stone dog who seems to have the ability to move inexplicably around the terrace and at the end it did move from one side of the stage to the other – although maybe there was more to this meets the eye as it took its bow. Despite the banality of the sometimes-unconnected ramblings of the veterans – we got strangely drawn into their conspiracy theories, their tall tales and the minutiae of their mundane lives – all delivered with charm and brilliance.

The cast certainly gave us a funny, and taking words from the assistant director, and “wistful” play. Despite the French names and references there was no need to use put on French accents and emphasising the fact situation could have arisen in any country, and all suffer the same remembrances of war. The play had a variety of humorous scenarios, and a lot of laughter could be heard from the audience who were really appreciative. There was one particularly comic scene, expertly choreographed, where the trio were formulating how they were going to implement Gustave’s escape plan involving the practicality of how they were going to cross the river to trek to the poplars on the hill in front of them. It involved them practising tying themselves together with a rope to enable them to cross the river to achieve their desired objective. They practised with a seemingly innocuous firehose, and the ensuing chaos had the audience metaphorically rolling in the aisles. The facial expressions of all three actors were an absolute joy to watch added to their pristine diction only confirmed our appreciation for their not inconsiderable talent. Considering the number of lines to be learnt their delivery appeared faultless and very accomplished.

Sibleyras's setting is a French military hospital in 1959 required no scenery changes as all scenes were set on the patio that only the three of them ever used, despite their being an underlying fear that other residents were planning a coup! As usual, the set was expertly executed by the talented Oldbury Rep design and set build team.

The sound and lighting were up to Oldbury’s excellent standard. One part of a scene I especially liked was at one point the stage went dark with red lighting in place, giving the impression of an extremely realistic war zone and a shocking contrast to the idyllic surroundings of the residential home.

Keith Thompson also directed the production, ably assisted by Karen Walker. How Keith Thompson managed to direct and actually play a part amazes me? Other members of the Production Team to be congratulated include Ben Mills-Wood as Production Assistant and Diane Careless and Tim Ward as Stage Manager and Assistant Stage Manager respectively.

It's always a pleasure to visit Oldbury Rep as I am certain of an enjoyable evening’s entertainment and the crew and cast of “Heroes” lived up to the tradition.

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