Oh! What a Lovely War

In February, I was given the opportunity to attend Cary Amateur Theatrical Society’s production of Oh! What a Lovely War.  Since being a Noda rep I have discovered that different societies have different strengths and, although this is only my second visit to Cary Amateur, it is obvious that their strength is definitely in the “theatre” of the production.  When I visited last year, to see “The Addams Family”, the foyer was covered in creepy cobwebs and candles and there was a very macabre feeling, this time there were poppies everywhere; war memorabilia on display; war propaganda posters in the auditorium and all the Front of House staff were dressed in outfits from the 1910s.  Even the money-making game had a war connection, in trying to spot the sniper (last year it was spot the ghost).  This of course has no bearing on the production itself, but it really helps get the audience in the mood from the minute they walk through the doors and I think it is a great idea and really shows that Cary think outside the box and look at the production within the bigger picture.

Although the production was due to start at 7.30pm, we were invited to arrive early to watch a “pre-amble” before the show!  The pre-amble turned out to be a silent “play” where all the characters seemed to wander on and wander off and interact with each other.  It wasn’t made clear to us if this was improvised or rehearsed and I am not really sure if it added much to the performance but, it certainly made a difference to just sitting there waiting for the curtains to open.  In the end it was kind of like watching “Big Brother”, nothing really happened but, you didn’t want to stop looking in case you missed something good.  However, having the pre-amble did allow us to get a good look at the stage, which was very well designed and built.  The stage was made up of the main stage, with a large clothes rail of authentic costumes, leading forwards to a narrow walk way in the middle of two bunkers.  The back of the stage was created with a brick wall design and a screen in the middle, which had things projected onto it.  There was also a small projection screen above the stage, which had war-time facts projected onto it.  There were no real scene changes, so the whole play ran smoothly and the different parts of the stage became different sets.  A very clever idea that looked stunning and worked really well.

It is at this point that I feel I should point out that, unfortunately, I did not enjoy the play itself.  I found it very dated and, although the information on the projector screen was very interesting, I found the play hard to follow and it did drag a little.  Of course, as Noda Reps we can’t like everything and, although I did not enjoy the play, I thought you guys did an amazing job with the production of it. 

As already mentioned, the staging of the production was incredibly good and the “theatre” around it was exceptional, second to none.  The costumes were also outstanding and every outfit fitted the time period perfectly.  Lynn Saffer and her team had done a very impressive job getting hold of costumes that looked like they had come straight out of WW1.  Although, I have to admit that I felt very sorry for the guys when they were in their full trench wear, in that hot auditorium and under those hot lights, I’m sure many of the cast were lighter by the end of the run.

The music, under the direction of Lynne Merrifield was really good and you could certainly tell the difference from last year’s Addams Family, where the ROCS system was used (although I am still a big fan of ROCS).  The band comprised of only 6 members, but seemed like many more, and their playing completely filled the auditorium, although a couple of times it was a little tricky to hear some of the quieter singing because of it.  It was also really impressive that all the band were dressed in 1910s costumes which really helped pull the whole feel of the production together.

The Choreography, by Jo Truman-Boal, was good and many of the dances fitted the era well.  A lot of work had obviously gone into the choreography as I can’t recall seeing any member of the cast out of step with the others and everyone really looked like they were enjoying themselves whilst performing.

The lighting and sound by David Boal and Peter Volk was good and both worked together well to bring a rounded feel to the production.  Although, I am still not really sure how the sound worked whether there were mics or not and if so where were they!?  However you achieved the sound, it was good and it is great to see a show where you can pretty much hear everything but with no feedback or distortion.  Well done.  The slide projection of facts was handled by Bill Briody, although this was a really nice touch and produced some very interesting information, the constant typing noise that came with it did became irritating and it did distract from the action on more than a couple of occasions, especially when it started typing as the actors were in mid-speech.

The cast all did a really good job of remembering all those lines and all those characters and everyone worked well together.  All the acting was of a very high standard producing very convincing performances and believable characters all the way down to the background actors, who all stayed true to their role. It would normally be at this stage that I would like to comment on those cast members that really stood out but with so many different cast members playing so many different roles, and because there were no named pictures in the programme, it is very difficult to accurately highlight people for individual praise.  However, the main guys throughout the production were fantastic and all complimented each other.  Luke Whitchurch really stood out, especially as the drill sergeant and for his exceptional solo’s towards the end of the performance.  The end scene with the falling poppies and the pictures of soldiers was especially moving and it would take someone with a heart of stone to not have a lump in their throat or a tear in their eye.  Vikki Whitchurch also stood out in her sections, as did Quintin Mitchell as the compere and various other characters.  It did seem strange that the play didn’t go back to the compere towards the end, to tie up everything as a play within a play, but that would have lessened the impact of the poppies dropping.

Overall, this was another very good production by Cary Amateur and although I didn’t enjoy the play itself, I loved what you did with the performance.  Again, I understand that this production was mostly hand-made and it always astounds me how you guys seem to be able to do more with hand-made than some companies can achieve by hiring.  Well done and I really look forward to visiting you again.

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