The Accrington Pals

Throughout this country and indeed many others, events have recently been held to mark the 100th anniversary of the outbreak of World War 1. To commemorate this occasion, Boston Playgoers decided to stage this exceptionally powerful and moving play based on a real life occurrence in which 700 men from the Accrington area, most of whom were young, enlisted to form a battalion with a distinctive local identity to fight in this war. Sadly, for many, their military careers were to be short lived, as most were slaughtered in their first major action, the attack on Serre on 1st July, 1916, the opening day of the Battle of the Somme. This is an extremely testing play, for every member of the cast is required to enact the effects of going through a range of particularly strong emotions. The combined efforts of the director and actors produced superb characterisation both in the men who went off to fight and the women who were left behind to cope with their severely fractured lives. Maxine Crowson, making her first stage appearance, worked particularly hard in developing the character of “Annie”. The well designed and constructed sets included domestic scenes and battle front locations; with lighting and sound effects used to produce a battlefield environment. The costumes and military uniforms were of the period. This war brought about a sea change in social attitudes, many of which were highlighted in this splendid team effort that was duly recognised by the audience as a most memorable performance of Peter Whelan’s play.

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