The Accrington Pals

~~A most unusual play, difficult script and a setting totally different to the implied title.
Yes, this is about the First World War (WW1) but does not overly concern us with the horrors of trench warfare as we have come to understand it, but gives us a vivid insight to the worry and torment of those who were left behind at home, particularly the women.
A very strong cast, wonderfully led by Rosalie Abel in the lead role of May, showed remarkable compassion, fun and despair in their roles demonstrating a good comprehension of the period. All the cast proved to be individual characters, not straying from their own perceptions and retaining their personalities within their roles throughout.
Ivan Hall, John Eaves and Tom Roberts as Tom, Arthur and Ralph gave polished performances and were ably supported by Frances Bain (Eva), Ruby Clark (Sarah) and Megan O’Neill (Bertha) not to mention Katrina Stead as Annie, the loud mouthed know-it-all who shouted and yelled at all and sundry throughout the show particularly at her son, Reggie, well played by Ben Houlgate. Paul Burnett as Rivers the rather unfeeling sergeant completed the cast.
The set was extremely simple, comprising a split stage with a fruit and veg stall on stage right and the parlour of May’s house on stage left. Lighting gave us a good attempt at showing the dim gas lights of the day whilst the costumes were well in keeping of the period.
David Masters, the director had obviously done much hard work in researching the home life of the time and this was evident in the small yet effective touches he introduced to the action.
This is the first time that I have seen WADS perform and I was very pleased with the excellent staging of the play and the talent within the society which enabled them to give such an outstanding performance.    

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