This week's Drama Barn
production is an adaption of Sebastian Faulk's novel Birdsong, by Rachel
Wagstaff. It essentially centres on the short lives of two young men, infantry
Lieutenant Stephen Wraysford (Jason Ryall), and Royal Engineer Sapper Jack Firebrace
(Iain Campbell), and their lives in the trenches of France and Belgium during
WWI. Interspersed with the storyline during the war in 1916 is the earlier
story of the same Lieutenant in 1910, whilst working for a French textile
factory owner, René Azaire (Toby King). During this time, he falls in love with
René's wife, Isabelle (Zoe Biles) and they begin an affair. The first act ends
with Wraysford and his men going over the top to attack the Germans. The second
act is set two years later with Wraysford and Firebrace still in the trenches,
and concludes very poignantly with the entire cast walking slowly on, carrying
makeshift wooden crosses, and looking towards a war memorial, illuminated by a
single spotlight. The acting in this impressive production is spot on, wonderful direction from
Connor Abbott - Ryall switches between embittered Officer and smitten young man
with ease; whilst Campbell portrays a down-to-earth former miner, trying his
best to keep his morale, and that of those around him, high, despite the
hopelessness and desperation of the trenches they are stuck in.
King is positively frightening
as the malevolent, controlling husband, with Biles at his side as all that is
sweet and good in life, despite the situation she finds herself in. Notable performances too, from Andy Bewley as Jack's best friend Arthur Shaw,
and Joseph D'angelo, the provider of many a laugh as Monsieur Bérard, a friend
of the Azaires.
Credit has to go to Emma
Henderson, the movement director and lighting designer, for the opening scene -
a war dance by the soldiers, set to original techno/industrial sound design by
Marco Baratelli. The fantastic lighting didn't end there though, with full use
of the well-spaced lights in the Barn creating entirely different moods in
moments - intimate love scene, or brutal war.
The
set too, constructed by Nick Dandakis, was simple (as the limits of the barn
dictate), but effective - a wooden framed cuboid covered in opaque fabric,
backlit, provides the tunnel which Sapper Jack spends a lot of his time digging
in, and two hessian-covered flats, with sandbags at their bases, complete the
trench feel. Unfortunately, some of the French accents slipped from time to time but it is
always difficult holding an accent, whilst remembering lines and acting, and it
didn't detract too much from the acting. The timeline kept jumping between the
trenches in 1916 and the textile factory in 1910, sometimes with a character
remaining in the background from the previous scene. Whilst I understand that
it was to keep the pace flowing between scenes, I personally found it a little
confusing at times. It was also a shame this production was not over
remembrance weekend - but I thought it was nice to be reminded of the men and
women who lost their lives in WWI and II a month after remembrance weekend.
Indeed, remembrance shouldn't just be confined to November.
The play is a long one, at two hours and 15 minutes (with an interval), but a lot happens, and it's worth the money for the length alone. The cast also presumably needed a lot of time to learn the dialogue, and they did - flawlessly. I recommend you watch it, before it finishes on Sunday evening.
And you can listen to the review this Sunday on Yorworld by visiting the URY website.
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