The Men Who Marched Away

 

The Men Who Marched Away

Kirton 1914-1918

Performed by Crediton Operatic and Dramatic Society (CODS)

At Crediton Congregational Church, Crediton on 13th February 2025

Written and Directed by Paul Walker

Musical Director – Alan Fouracre

 

This heartwarming and informative story is based around two women, Harriet Setter and her family who lived in Crediton at the time of the First World War and the local district nurse, Edith Appleton, who travels to France to work amongst the injured and dying at the battlefront. Throughout, we meet many affected by WW1 in so many different ways as we learn of bravery and loss at home and in France.

As we took our seats the sound of WW1 songs can be heard and Scottish bagpipes play. Blacks are draped as the backdrop of the stage and a projection screen, set as the Cyclorama, shows a silhouetted picture of a WW1 soldier and the title of the production. The cast use the entrances, stage left and right as Mrs Harriet Setter, in a white high collar blouse, brown skirt and boater, enters to narrate the story. Taking us back to 1914 and the annual Rose Fayre held in Kirton ( Crediton ) we watch as local men are recruited as soldiers. Harriet sings ‘The Men Who Marched Away’ joined by a chorus of adult and young performers.

The actor playing Harriet was the anchor for this production and this was a thought-provoking, gentle performance with a real sense of loss but also hope. Edith Appleton, portrayed beautifully by an actor with experience who takes the audience on a journey of sacrifice and horror she witnesses as she writes home to her friend, Gertie. ‘No Man’s Land’ was sung with real feeling by this lovely actor. Edie (Edith Appleton) dressed in an authentic WW1 nurse’ uniform,  sat behind a desk on stage left, writes to Gertie who is stood stage right. Edie reads her letter out loud as she writes her truth and then Gertie, visibly shocked, takes over the dialogue of the letter. Really touching and beautifully acted and directed.

There were a number of poignant moments due to the subject but if it had not been so well written by Paul Walker it could have been lost. The ladies eat Christmas dinner, snow falling is projected and a soldier sings ‘Stille Nacht’ across No Man’s Land. A German soldier with a white flag leaves his trench, they greet, swap food and cigarettes, play football and not a shot was fired for four days. This scene was lit beautifully with white and yellow but then the guns start up again and the explosions are heard, represented by orange lighting and the sound of destruction. The scenes in Haywards School in Crediton were lovely with every child actor having a solo line, performing with real confidence and involving the audience

This was a large cast with a good number of chorus number involving everyone. ‘My Young Man’ was well sung with good diction from all and this continued throughout the production. Good solo numbers from Cathy as Burlington Bertie and the Madam. ‘The Rose of No Man’s Land’ was so touching performed by the actor playing Gertie Stemson. She also stood in as the Land Army Girl as the actor was not able to perform. ‘Cold in the Trenches’  sung by the three soldiers was wistful and accompanied by a harmonica from the band accompanying.

As was ‘Requiem’, the final song sung by the cast. I was especially moved by the actor playing the adult Eleanor Organ as she sang ‘The Empty Chair’ by Robb Johnson, having received a telegram informing her of her husband’s death.

The costumes had been cleverly thought-out and sourced such as Edie’s WW1 nurse outfit, the high collar blouses for the ladies, the boys’ pantaloons, the long aprons, the WW1 soldier’s uniforms and the WW1 German Prussian Pickelhaube helmet and trench coat to name a few.

The production was expertly intertwined with folk songs, WW1 well known songs and songs specific to the story. Some written by Steve Knightly and Chris Hoban of Show off Hands, local to Devon, Mike Harding’s ‘Xmas 1914’ beautifully sung by a soldier in this production and a number of other written by various composers.

The band of four musicians who accompanied the performers throughout were an added bonus for a production in a community church, enhancing this lovely piece of theatre. The sound was balanced well and every performer could be heard.

With ten scene changes in Act 1 and seven in Act 2, space was limited so the stage props were simplified with use of small tables and chairs, a desk for Edie, sandbags placed on stage used as seats, a WW1 hospital bed, a standalone microphone for the compere to use during the Musical Hall scene at the beginning of Act Two and the washing line used by the ladies in ‘The Lads in Their Hundreds’.  It was ideal to use projection to show changes of scene such as the posh living room of the French madam’s brothel, the rows of white crosses, the dug-out trenches by moonlight and the times table and mathematics on the school black board.

This production showed me as an audience member that any space can be a theatre space when designed with thought. The story portrays how the people of a small town in Devon survived and supported each other through the tragedies of WW1. A captivating story written and performed sensitively by the cast.

 

Lyn Burgoyne Noda Representative for District 5, Mid and East Devon.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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