Oh What A Lovely War

To commemorate the start of Great Britain’s entry into the Great War of 1914 -1918 “Oh What a Lovely War” was produced by The Stevenage Lytton Players.

“Oh What a lovely War” pokes fun the establishment with period songs and sketches whilst at the same time reminding us of how many lives were lost for so little gain. I have always taken a great interest in this subject and I was eager to see how the Lytton Players would rise to the challenge.

It was very evident that a lot of historical research had gone on prior to and during rehearsals and the back projections brought the message home to the audience every time they were displayed.

The musical content and choreography was very good throughout and the pace of the delivery in many of the sketches was just right.

Projection was excellent and the scene changes flowed effortlessly into each other.

There were several excellent performances from the cast including Derek Blyth and John Dunleavy but for me, the highlight of the evening was the outstanding Drill Sergeant teaching the recruits basic drill movements. Although we could not always tell what he was saying, we knew exactly what he meant. I am quite sure that it brought back some wonderful memories for some members of the audience of their basic training days!

Costumes were well thought through with a basic neutral combination for the men that they were able to add to depending on the location or dialogue and black and bright orange for the ladies which added that element of colour so necessary to lighten the mood at times.

This was a successful evening for all. Thank you for your hospitality.

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