The Dark Earth and the Light Sky

This relatively new play (first produced in 2012) was certainly new to me and the central figure at the heart of the drama - the poet Edward Thomas - is a figure from our literary history who was also unfamiliar to me. It was therefore with a keen sense of anticipation of something fresh, new and interesting that I took my seat, safe in the knowledge that the Arts Club would doubtless impress with a thoughtful production. One of the many impressive things about the Arts Club is their long practiced policy of producing a healthy mixture of varied and intelligent plays each season; a range of different productions which offer audiences something fresh, interesting and in many cases, thought provoking.

A play set around the Great War which focuses on a poet would ordinarily bring to mind names such as Siegfried Sassoon, Wilfred Owen or Rupert Brooke but here, it was the less familiar Edward Thomas who took centre stage. In this examination of the personality behind the poetry, Thomas was revealed to be a complex character; a rather unloveable man, full of frustrations and contradictions. The non-linear narrative jumped to and fro, taking in important moments in his life - and the impact made on those left behind after his death - and encounters with people who had shaped his life and upon whom Thomas had the greatest impact. Thomas emerged as a complex and difficult character but perhaps more importantly, the play shone a light on the way in which the human character is much more of a complicated and fractured entity than lesser dramas might have us believe. In the hands of experienced director Geoff Baron and his skilled band of players, the play was given a thoughtful and intelligent airing which an almost capacity audience thoroughly enjoyed.

The set reflected Thomas's love of nature and had a thoughtful simplicity about it, giving the performers a sort of 'rural abstract' background to use as the arena in which Thomas's personality was explored from a number of perspectives and viewpoints. His wife Helen, clearly very much in love with Edward despite the often difficult nature of their relationship, was a constant source of support and acted as a much needed foothold in the 'real world'. Poet, friend and artistic mentor Robert Frost saw Thomas as very much a soulmate in advancing the earthy, vernacular style they both were vital in advocating and, despite a much more realistic - some might say more cynical and quite different - worldview, the two men maintained a close friendship. Thomas's father provided the cold blast of 'common sense' and Thomas's doting admirer Eleanor Farjeon seemed inspired by his love of nature, and her unconditional love was nicely played in contrast to the rest of Thomas's coterie of admirers. This quiet and thoughtful play showed that by casting a light on a particular individual, our own feelings, actions and emotions are also illuminated. Thomas emerged as a flawed, fractious, depressed, often unloveable character but by examining his very human frailties, all of us in the audience could examine our own inner lives too.

Paul Heyes did a magnificent job of bringing this complex character to life. Both loveable and irascible in equal measure, Paul really gave us the essence of Edward Thomas and this confident portrayal was a nicely played, giving us a well rounded view of this often prickly personality. Sara Ashton as Edward's wife helped to hold the narrative together and provided one of the many perspectives from which we could view this complex character. Her performance was particularly confident and engaging and provided extremely solid support throughout the production. Robin Brown as the American poet Robert Frost was also an effective presence on stage: always a thoughtful performer, he was particularly strong here. Eleanor Farjeon - the children's' author - was very well played by Barbara Cilgram, suggesting a sympathetic and likeable personality behind her obvious infatuation with Thomas. Philip Thomas - Edward's father - was brought to life by Tony Lewis, complete with a rather glorious Welsh accent! Tony's usual sparkle on stage was well suited to the somewhat cantankerous Mr Thomas and he really brought the character to life, with Tom Haworth filling in the picture with a couple of smaller roles, giving another demonstration of his versatility on the Arts Club stage.

Geoff Baron had obviously put a great deal of time - and love - into this production. The way the characters were presented to us was thoughtful and interesting, giving the audience the mental space to let the ideas which were presented swish around and provide food for thought. There was no push from the director to herd the audience in a particular direction and ideas were presented before us and allowed to grow at their own pace. Geoff made sure that the occasional flashes of humour which run through the play were given just the right treatment and kept a nice balance with the more serious nature of the themes of the play. This was a production which showed an incisive appreciation of the light and shade needed to give a fully rounded dramatic picture. So many different themes and ideas flowed beneath what could have been merely a simple biography of a rather prickly personality that the script from Nick Dear couldn't have received a better or more thoughtful airing. The whole cast are to be congratulated - Geoff Baron's exceptional direction particularly.

It is the mark of a great evening at the theatre when as well as providing thoughtful, intelligent entertainment, one is inspired to take a further interest in an unfamiliar name in the literary world (speaking for myself anyway!) and to discover afterwards that Thomas was regarded by Ted Hughes as being, poetically speaking, "the father of us all" and is a writer I shall enjoy exploring. As always, my sincerest thanks go to everyone at the Arts Club for making myself and Stuart so very welcome and, more importantly, for continuing to produce dramatic entertainment of the very highest order.

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