JOURNEY'S END. To 4 June.

Tour

JOURNEY'S END
by R.C. Sherriff

Tour to 4 June 2005
Runs 2hr 40min One interval
Review Hazel Brown 10 February 2005 at Lighthouse, Poole

Brilliant production effortlessly turns the emotional screws to its shattering climax.Though this surprise West End success reaches a London ceasefire in February, audiences elsewhere can still see one of the most important plays about war in David Grindley's brilliant production which, apparently effortlessly, turns the emotional screws throughout the evening until its shattering climax. No one leaves the auditorium unaffected.

Set in a dimly lit dug-out during the run up to the intensive German offensive of March 1918, the play throws light on the humanity of those caught up in the war and underlines the futile waste of lives, both young and not so young. The men caught in this wasteland make vain attempts to carry on normal' life: paper laid on the table for meal times, details of the paltry menu, demands for pepper for the soup, pathetic attempts to dry socks, stories of earwig racing to pass the time - all attempts to create a semblance of order and to take their minds off the relentless and inevitable slaughter. Revelations about lives quietly lived in England, building rockeries, schooldays, wives and sisters contrast with faked illness and prodigious drinking to try to blot out the war.

Tom Wisdom captures every nuance of the despair and charisma in Stanhope, the brave and very young Captain who has survived the trenches for three years, and who now drinks to keep his courage from flagging. He is nurtured and cared for by his 2IC Osborne (Philip Franks), a soft-spoken former school teacher who once played rugger for England; it's a touchingly tender relationship.

One of the most shattering scenes is when Stanhope shames and bullies the traumatized officer Hibbert into going back into battle. In contrast is the bluff, lower middle class Trotter and the quartermaster Private Brown, who provide lighter moments.

The ending is apocalyptic and the curtain call is one of the most moving I have ever seen, simply because the actors do not move except to slowly raise their helmets in salute to those they represent. Whilst this play reflects the language and class attitudes of its time, the humanity demonstrated serves as a lesson for all time.

Captain Hardy/Sergeant Major: James Staddon
Lieutenant Osborne: Philip Franks
Private Mason: Stephen Casey
2nd Lieutenant Raleigh: Richard Glaves
Captain Stanhope: Tom Wisdom
2nd Lieutenant Trotter: Roger Walker
Private Albert Brown/A Private: Edward Fulton
2nd Lieutenant Hibbert: Stephen Hudson
Colonel: Simon Shackleton
German Soldier: William Gregory
Lance Corporal Broughton: Christopher Knott

Director: David Grindley
Designer: Jonathan Fensom
Lighting: Jason Taylor
Sound: Gregory Clarke

Reviews of the London production can be found in the Reviewsgate archive

2005-02-27 01:43:46