Oh What a Lovely War

Oh What a Lovely War as a theatrical production was the result of the collaboration which began on the anniversary of Armistice Day in 1962 of Gerry Raffles, Joan Littlewood his partner and Charles Chilton who had written a musical about World War I.  It is a satire on the war and” Oh It’s a Lovely War” is a music hall song which is a major feature of the show and one which was sung originally by a male impersonator Ella Shields. Littlewood who had an abhorrence for khaki decided that the characters would all wear pierrot costumes and alter their characters with helmets and hats.

This latest production from Hartley Arts followed similar lines to that of the original and featured 9 men and 5 women.  The orchestration was sensitively created by the musical director who is to be commended on her 5 piece band.

A great deal of research and planning had evidently gone into both the preparation and direction of this production over the past two years.  There were many very poignant moments with so many moving sections fashioned by this extremely talented cast. The minimal set and simple costumes were enhanced by the projection screen showing references to the sheer numbers of deaths and casualties with the minimum amount of ground gained.  Real shock was obviously experienced by the audience.  Congratulations to all of the cast and crew for immersing the audience in the play and for creating such a poignant and evocative evening.

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