Lauren Crisp is a book editor, writer and keen follower of arts and culture. Born and raised in Harrogate, Lauren recently moved back to North Yorkshire after a stint in London, where she regularly reviewed theatre – everything from big West End shows to small fringe productions. She is now eager to explore the culture on offer in and around her home town. You can contact Lauren on [email protected].
Pioneering anti-war musical, Oh What a Lovely War, turns 60 this year; Blackeyed Theatre is celebrating with a sparky revival and national tour.
Devised by groundbreaking director Joan Littlewood and first staged in 1963, the wildly satirical play is composed of a series of vignettes, packed with sketches, songs and slapstick humour, piecing together snapshots of certain momentous and memorable passages of the Great War.
Far from a celebration of the era, it is an exposé of the time: a scrutiny of its ideals, leaders, profiteers and politicians. It pokes fun and shines a light on its sheer futility – and in so doing, demonstrates a timeless universality.
In the vein of Littlewood’s original vision, the cast wear Pierrot-inspired costume, and the set has echoes of the circus: farce is right at the fore. The cast of six is a tight-knit ensemble, nimbly directed by Nicky Allpress and formed of multi-instrumentalists who perform wartime songs.
Each excellent cast member takes on a vast number of roles in whirlwind fashion: from soldiers in the trenches, to politicians, generals, nurses, suffragettes and civilians on the Home Front. They hop between accents as deftly as they do costume and musical instrument. It’s a fast-paced piece, more of a revue than story-like, and subsequently requires rigorous attention from its audience to keep up.
A good knowledge of the ins and outs of the Great War would come in handy, especially for some of the more historically heavy scenes, which may go over heads. It is not a wholly accessible play, and viewer age may influence enjoyment.
I also found some dialogue and lyrics tricky to follow, as the cast performs, admirably, unamplified. Diction, too, often lacked clarity, and simple spoken French and German was lost to extravagant accents. I worried I may have missed subtleties and wished I had a script to follow.
Nevertheless, most striking are the play’s dramatic tonal shifts. Comedy and tragedy are bosom friends here: never far apart. There is something unnerving in the production’s capacity to draw laughs amid a milieu of sheer horror. We are reminded of the human cost of the conflict via newsreel and ticker tape projected onto the stage’s backdrop, which lists the climbing – and unbelievable – losses of the period.
In Oh What a Lovely War, we witness a moment in history, one which we think we understand, be meticulously unpicked, only to unravel into chaos before our very eyes.
Oh What a Lovely War is at Harrogate Theatre until tomorrow (Saturday, February 24). You can also catch it at Leeds Playhouse on March 26 and 27.
Read more:
- Review: The Woman in Black haunts York’s Grand Opera House
- Review: Peter Pan Goes Wrong brings mischief and mayhem to Leeds
