My Boy Jack

My Boy Jack – is a play written by the actor David Haig which chronicles the struggle of Rudyard Kipling to come to terms with the death of his son Jack.  This is a very topical choice at this time of remembering the start of the First World War.  Having been determined to get his son into the army before the war began the play describes the struggles of Kipling, the other family members and fellow soldiers to come to terms with their roles in the life and death of Jack. Haig first considered writing a play about Rudyard Kipling when a fellow actor remarked on his uncanny resemblance to the author.  The play is evocative, thoughtful and poignant. The script for the play sometimes loses its focus and takes more time than necessary to reach the next point.

The set dressing was finished to a high standard.  The attention to detail was most commendable particularly in the trench scene.  The music to accompany the scene changes was well thought out.  The stage crew are to be congratulated on their ingenuity.

The opening scene, in the study of Rudyard Kipling, made most effective use of the space.  The subsequent major scene involving the trenches was extremely successful.  The scenes in front of the tabs made the best use of the available space and the crew the opportunity to change the sets. The set dressing was finished to a high standard.  The attention to detail was most commendable particularly in the trench scene.  The music to accompany the scene changes was well thought out - there was one scene change which could have been improved with music.  The stage crew are to be congratulated on their ingenuity.  Unusually for a play there were a great number of costume changes.  These were done most efficiently with attention to detail in terms of the passage of time.  The uniform insignia did not always tally with the script.

The play was directed with style and the necessary degree of sensitivity - the creation of the characters well sculpted.  It was evident that time had been spent developing the individual persona and its position within the whole.  The casting and execution of all the roles illustrated the required sensitivity and depth.  Ellis Nicholls did well to maintain the image of Rudyard Kipling and managed the long sections of dialogue with ease.  His long suffering wife, Caroline, was played by Vivienne Raeside, who very ably coped with the problem of being torn between her husband and son. Guardsman Bowe is a role which requires the actor to convey the stress and trauma he experienced in during the war - you could have heard a pin drop as Guardsman Bowe (Chris Deacon) put across his thoughts and actions as a result of his experiences. 

This is a very difficult play to produce and the Churt Amateur Dramatic Society are to be congratulated on their resultant performance.

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