Oh! What a Lovely War

This was a very unusual piece of theatre which, to the uninitiated, came over as rather confusing in Act One but was made much clearer as the War Years progressed. It is essentially an ensemble piece, that relies heavily on the cast adapting to many different characters, which I thought they accomplished remarkably. The set was very minimal but worked as the cast could move round it well and the pianist tucked up at the back was an inspiration. The sound effects were good and realistic, the lighting operator was certainly kept on his toes and the costume department had cleverly depicted each scene and at the same time allowed for a multitude of changes. I could see that the cast had really taken on board the pointlessness and tragedy of WW1 with its terrible waste of life. The news clippings on the screen were very telling especially in Act Two when Field Marshal Douglas Haig was pontificating how the events would take place.  (Sadly his hesitant delivery of his words with many pauses detracted from his portrayal of such an important person.) In stark contrast the crowd scenes were very lively, with plenty of expression from the ensemble, and there was some interesting choreography. I thought the quick changes (both costume and accent) were achieved very well. I was particularly impressed with Stuart Box who provided much of the important roles in act one with care and attention to detail. The many well known songs were all performed appropriately and with gusto, especially “Belgium put the Kybosh on the Kaiser” and “Keep the Home Fires Burning”, the former with vivacity whilst the latter was reflective and poignant and I liked the hymn singing section, with the men getting their tongues round different words, whilst a few ladies sang the proper words. The bayonet practice was great fun showing the contrast of the trained professional sergeant against the motley crew of enlisted men but without a doubt the three most memorable moments for me, in an evening of mixed feelings, was the performance of the vicar, the outstanding singing of “Roses of Picardy” and the finale which was extremely well-handled proving to be a very poignant ending.  Not an easy production to stage,  Well done.

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