3.5 STARS, March 14-17. The horrors of the Great War are brought home once more in this poignant production, writes Jane McGowan
Sebastian Faulks’ First World War novel Birdsong is one of my all-time favourite books. So it was with some trepidation I approached Rachel Wagstaff’s adaptation, which arrived at the New Victoria in Woking as part of its national tour.
I need not have worried. For under Wagstaff’s faithful text and Alastair Whately and Charlotte Peters’ steady direction, the personal and the global tragedy of the conflict is brought heart-wrenchingly to life.
The plot centres on Stephen Wraysford a somewhat detached character who finds himself in command of a battalion, and Jack Firebrace, a London Underground digger turned sapper, desperately worried about his son John, who is currently suffering from diphtheria back in Blighty. While their worlds meld in the trenches on the banks of the Somme, we are given an insight into Stephen’s past life and the doomed love affair that has left him somewhat empty and bereft of empathy for his charges.
While the narrative plays out, we are once again reminded of the savagery and nihilism of the whole devastating affair. The motif of wasted youth is hammered home as one young infantryman, who has lied about his age to join up, shoots himself rather than go over the top at the Somme. Victoria Spearing’s superb design which alternates between dugout and French manor house where we Stephan’s past love affair is revealed, more than plays it part as it rises to a broken wooden cross, bedecked in barbed wire across a washed out sky. Dominic Bilkey’s sound design also stands out as earsplitting bangs rip through the wartime action.
And yet there was just something lacking – while Tim Treloar shone as the ‘father’ of the group Jack Firebrace with a performance rich in pathos, and Tom Kay, did a sterling job of representing the heartbroken, melancholia of Stephen (although his intonation was slightly off-putting); the performance lacked real punch, which I have attributed to three things. Firstly, the vast auditorium at the New Victoria was barely a third full, and thus slightly lacking in ambiance as every shuffle, cough or munch seemed to ring out; secondly, a phone belonging to a lady on the front row went off twice – both times at key points, temporarily shattering the dramatic tension; and thirdly, I may just be a little First World War weary.
When I first read this book more than 20 years ago, I was struck at its poignant depiction of trench life, the horrors of digging the tunnels and the silence the men carried back to their lives back home. However, the Great War is now a very well-worn dramatic path with War Horse, Journey’s End, Testament of Youth all playing out on the big screen and stage. And while no one can fail to be moved as the men line-up to face the slaughter, we may have become a little desensitised to the horror. However, having said that this masterful production certainly does deserve to be seen – so grab a ticket if you can.
Birdsong is at The New Victoria Theatre, Woking until Mar 17 and then around the country. Visit: atg-tickets.com
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