Lilies on the Land

The play Lilies on the Land is devised on the true reflections of individual former members of Britain’s World War Two Women’s Land Army. It is a dramatised reflection of the lives of those who joined to ‘do their bit’ to support the country during the conflict. Their reminiscences reflect the different backgrounds of a number of ‘city girls’, away from home, working hard on farms, learning basic agricultural skills often under demanding and unsympathetic employers expecting unpaid hard work in return for the provision of bed & (often quite basic) boarding.

It's a serious story, with powerful messages interlaced with sensitive and occasional gentle humour and several well-known and atmospheric 1940’s songs.

All of the women are onstage throughout, and while as individuals they never really hold conversations with each other, they describe their respective experiences in a way that weaves their wartime lives and separate characters into one clearly understood and unified story. The play was originally written for four women and had been adapted in this production to accommodate more.

All of the women presented themselves as individual characters and as a collective team, in portraying the stresses, strains and sheer hard work of their lives on the land, together with the laughs they enjoyed, the lessons they learned, and the rollercoaster of emotions that a disoriented life in a country at war presented for them, their friends and their families.

It is impossible to single out any one of the experienced and talented actors. Each performed their role well and delivered the huge number of lines with assurance and conviction. They portrayed their individual characters while at times playing cameos of other women connected to their stories. Together, they gave the audience an emotion-hitting, often amusing, entertaining and thought-provoking experience.

The characterisation required by the men in the production was good with a wide variety of characters created.

Whilst the staging was simple the volume of properties was not. The cast worked well together to ensure each property was in place and used for maximum effect. The bath catapulted towards the front row at the end of Act One was particularly impressive.

Sound effects were also in abundance and were used to good effect to create just the right amount of atmosphere, although I did miss some of the dialogue at times when the cast need to project their vocals a little more.

A really liked the creativity that had been put into this production especially the scene completed in slow motion.

A great show and very thought provoking for the audience. Well done to director Tim Parkes, the cast and crew in bringing this production to the stage.

© NODA CIO.  All rights reserved

© NODA CIO. All rights reserved.