The Battle, 1995 Blur vs Oasis, The Rep, Birmingham, 19 Feb 2026 | until 07 March 2026⭐⭐⭐⭐Review by David Gray & Paul Gray
Photo credit: Helen Murray
The Battle, 1995 Blur vs Oasis
The Rep, Birmingham, 19 Feb 2026 | until 07 March 2026
⭐⭐⭐⭐Review by David Gray & Paul Gray
“A well-crafted, well-acted play, marred by a muddled ending.”
There is sometimes a worry with a play like this, I mean a play about a culturally iconic moment in recent popular cultural history. Will it be a nostalgia trip that speaks only to those who lived through that moment? Or will it be a fully formed play that stands on its own merits?
The good news about The Battle is that, for the most part, it’s the latter. Author, John Niven - in his first work for the stage - plunges us headfirst into the personal rivalries and tensions between two pop-bands. The action starts out in the very public arena of the Brit Awards. Niven’s characters are boldly, broadly drawn, and the front-man actors give it lots of ego and swagger. His script is very sweary and effortlessly funny.
As the narrative unfolds, Niven takes us beyond the laddishness and digs into the motivations and creative ambitions that drive the rivalries between the bands. He also highlights the tensions within the bands, and explores how the various characters cope, or don’t cope, with the pressure they find themselves under.
There are some very strong performances: Paddy Stafford, as Noel Gallagher shows us glimpses of sensitivity and vulnerability - behind an otherwise egotistical bombast - to create a really well-rounded character.
There is a beautifully drawn scene between Oscar Lloyd’s Damon Albarn and Will Taylor’s Graham Coxon. The latter is getting drunk in his bathroom, collapsing under the strain of fame, and the race to be number one in the charts. The two characters dwell, with bitterness and sweetness, on their childhood, and spar over their present. The role of Coxon gives Taylor a goldmine of conflicting emotions to sink his teeth into. His is the standout performance of the evening.
Another cleverly crafted scene juxtaposes the personalities of the Gallagher brothers as they give simultaneous interviews to newspapers. Noel to The Observer and Liam to a local tabloid.
As a result of the show’s detailed and convincing characterisation, there is a genuine building of excitement as we move towards the big reveal: who will get to number one; even if we already know the answer.
And then something odd happens. There is a fantasy mock-epic battle, with a cod-Shakespearean soliloquy delivered by the last man standing, Liam. There is then a musical number - a song written by neither of the bands. Frankly, it is difficult to know what to make of all of this.
Is it, perhaps, a recognition that the powerful emotions explored by the play need a big cathartic climax? Or is it, maybe, a huge verfremdungseffekt – a “make-strange effect” - designed to subvert our engagement in the narrative, and thus highlight the overblown absurdity of the situation? Or it could represent a complete and undeserved loss of confidence in the validity of the story and the effectiveness of its telling? Either way, it comes from nowhere, goes nowhere, carries on for too long, but I guess it delivers lots of laughs.
The last scene takes us back to the quality of writing and acting that has characterised the rest of the show. The play’s conclusion is touching, poignant, real, and leaves everything pleasingly unresolved.
Cast
Andy Ross – Matthew Horne
Alex James – Brandon Bendell
Justine/Maggie – Harriet Cains
Jo/Miranda – Iona Champain
Guigsy – Billy Dunmore
Bonehead – Tommy Garside
Alan White – George Greenland
Damon Albarn – Oscar Lloyd
Med/Karen – Louise Lytton
Dave Rowntree – James Oates
Graham Coxon – Will Taylor
Noel Gallagher – Paddy Stafford
Liam Gallagher – George Usher
Creatives
Written by – John Niven
Director – Matthew Dunster
Sets and Costumes – Fly Davis
Lighting – Jessica Hung Han Yun
Sound – Ian Dickinson for Autograph
Video – Tal Rosner