The musical theatre
play 'Oh What A Lovely War' was considered controversial in the early
1960s. It was almost daring in its abject criticism through an
unsympathetic parody of the generals who had governed the actions of
the British Troops in WW1 and 'Oh What A Lovely War' prospered
artistically and became the show to see. As a critical hit it showed
up foolhardy decisions that led to mass slaughter of millions of
European men and it exposed the exploitation of the times where
profiteers profited from the demise of others. It was indeed a hit!
The amazing thing was that the WW1 catastrophe was shown through the
theatrical framework of an end of the pier Pierott show and in taking
the subject completely out of context it worked as an educational and
theatrical tool. Dramatic juxtapositions and fast pace were the core
of it's success.
'Oh What a Lovely War'
has been a popular show with amateur and professional companies ever
since and particularity so during 2014 the centenary year of the
start of the First World War. In Nottingham City alone we have two
productions on going. First to take off is the People's Theatre
Company in their production at The Arts Theatre on George Street. Not
only is it a very big cast of 63 but they are offering two relevant
charities to benefit from their box office. These are the British
Legion – set up after the First World War and Help for Heroes- a
more contemporary channel for financial help through charity. In fact
their show ends poignantly with a minute's silence and a collection
at the door as people exit. All very laudable and moving.
The director Maggie
Andrew was keen to allow as many people as feasibly possible to be
involved in the show. These would include young and old and those in
between. Theatrically experienced and inexperienced are combined in
the show and this takes its toll on the show's dramatic effect at the
Arts Theatre. The physical structure of the venue has a bit of a
reputation for its poor acoustics and, unfortunately on the opening
night a fair amount of the dialogue was inaudible and I was sitting
near the front row. The exceptions were in the more experienced
members of the cast. John Uttley as the belligerent Sergeant being a
prime example. In a couple of the musical numbers there seemed to be
some uncertainty as to lyrics from the cast and I felt that some of
the pieces were under- rehearsed. Conversely many of the other songs
were very well done on occasions – good energy and appropriately
moving and the youthful choreography by Natalie Randell was well
executed to the point of dynamic and engaging.
In a show that is built
up in a musical sketch format intertwined with political parody fast
pace is paramount to keep the energy and interest and on occasion it
simply didn't happen. Despite Lily Taylor Ward's splendid singing of
'Roses in Picardy' the concurrent scene of 'the rich entertain' was
ponderous and incomprehensible and so much of the essential audience
attention was lost. This was a shame and perhaps the piece could have
been trimmed back to better effect. The same could be said for a
scene with a young boy and girl dancing around a radio with adverts
for health products screened behind them. Unless this allowed a
chance for performers to change clothes en mass it seemed utterly
pointless. Once you start to lose an audience it can take an awful
lot to get them back on track.
On the plus side there
was great attention to detail in the spoken languages of French and
German and the main actress who took the brunt of such challenges had
great competence and reality in the portrayal of people from both of
these nations and a good sense of pathos and comedy. I also liked the
First Winter scene for it's honesty in portrayal and the shooting
party for its clarity and humour. In general the nostalgic songs were
sung with gusto and warmth. The solos from the boy soldiers were
genuinely touching. Exceptional work had been done on the scene with
the Suffragettes. If all of the show had this clarity of intention
and tightness then it would have been very well done.
The sound effects of
machine guns and other bombardments are terrifying in their
unexpected entrances and volume.
Overall as a reviewer I
would consider that this is a surprisingly challenging piece to
present and I would commend those involved for presenting a theatre
work that reveals the reality of war. This frantic jigsaw of a piece
of theatre at the Arts Theatre may not have all the pieces in place
to make a perfect picture but I feel that the companies heart is in
the creation. In the café bar there is a fantastic display about
unknown aspects of WW1. Definitely worth a look.
