Private Peaceful

Sodbury Players

Private Peaceful, by Michael Morpurgo, adapted for the Stage by Simon Reade

As seen by: Frankie Telford on May 18th, 2018

Directors: Ross Brown and Maggie Allsopp

The Town Hall, Chipping Sodbury                                                                               

This is a very poignant story of the Peaceful family caught up in the events of the First World War, showing how it affected the lives of the soldiers and those left at home and the futility of it all.  This is a challenging production, which requires a large cast and many changes of location.  The set was well designed with the two areas where the action kept returning permanently set.  The family home downstage right, and the prison cell stage left.  There were several blocks, which were moved about the stage as necessary, with pieces of furniture and extra small pieces of scenery to help represent such scenes as in the trenches; everything was moved efficiently.  A screen at the back of the stage projected images, all the legs and flats were covered in hessian, literally giving a blank canvass, it worked very well. 

The lighting helped create the different locations and moods of the piece, with some extremely dramatic moments.  There were many well-cued sound effects throughout, I found the ticking of the clock in the second half particularly powerful. The costumes reflected the period in which the play was set, both working and the military. 

 

The directors were able to cast the play with people of the correct ages for the roles from the very talented youth section, who would have been young soldiers 100 years ago.  The directors had worked hard on making sure whole company had understood the era and the horrors facing the young men.  The whole cast worked well to bring the story to life, taking us from the rural family setting where life was hard for the mother left with three boys after the death of her husband, to the horrors faced by two of those same boys in the trenches of Ypres.  Everyone had created believable characters, who worked well together, but special mention must go to Sam Frankcom who played young Tommo Peaceful.  It was a huge undertaking, showing how he was ‘growing up’ with all the emotions of childhood, especially guilt at the death of his father, first love, and then facing the atrocities of war.  He was the pivotal character in the story and was on stage much of the time and so much depended on his skills as a storyteller.  He gave a remarkable performance.

Directors Ross Brown and Maggie Allsopp had created a truly moving piece of theatre using a very effective minimal set, combined with good lighting and sound effects.  There were many lovely moments reflecting both the sadness and humour of the lives of the characters.  There were good friezes when action was happening on different areas of the stage, everyone responded well to the other characters, and you felt the optimism of the boys marching off to war through the audience. It was a very moving tribute to those who lived through this period in history and left a lasting impression on the audience.

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