The Battle of Shepherds Bush

Just one week before the Olympics started I went see a play that gave an insight into the politics’ (with a small ‘p’) behind the modern Olympics and their arrival in England in 1908. This factually based play was so interesting and very well portrayed by the relatively small cast. Whilst there were many long dialogues the cast did extremely well, staying focussed throughout whilst demonstrating the absolute passion of the Olympians who were bringing the games to England, it couldn’t fail to make everyone in the audience feel patriotic. Hugh Farey was very convincing as Baron Desborough and Mark Cox was very good as Robert Stuart although I liked him as Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle better, but that could have been because of the character he was playing. The pompous Americans were well represented by David Tearle and Robert Hollis and it was with some glee that they were subtly, but nicely, put down, usually by the Assistant Secretary played by Joshua Herriott who I thought was brilliant: he played the role with a tongue in cheek attitude during his conflicts with the ‘Americans’ and I can only describe his character as thoroughly ‘British’. I was enthralled by the play and the story it told and I could have quite happily have sat through it again if only to pick up some of the facts that I may have overlooked.

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