RED NIGHT. To 26 November.
London
RED NIGHT
by James Lansdale Hodson
Finborough Theatre To 26 November 2005
Tue-Sat 7.30pm Sun 3.30pm
Runs 2hr 15min One interval
TICKETS: 0870 4000 838
www.finboroughtheatre.co.uk
Review: Timothy Ramsden 13 November
The Great War as mud and murder.
This 3rd annual instalment of ‘Forgotten Voices from the Great War’ is the first consisting of a full-length play, a terrific rediscovery of a piece unseen for 70 years, adapted by Manchester journalist and radio dramatist Hodson (1891-1956) from his own novel and forming a private’s eye view of the trenches in contrast to the officer-dominated dugout of Journey’s End.
John Hardcastle takes leave of his pregnant wife in a brief opening scene. He’s optimistic but the assurance of a child underlines a sense he may not return. Then, as Stella Hardcastle stands alone at the side, the stage, like life in 1914, fills with soldiers. These are frontline troops, standing on observation, peering through a periscope at enemy movements, facing the terror of hostile artillery as well as inconsiderate officers, official incompetence and trench foot. Shooting yourself in the foot, literally, becomes tempting – a self-inflicted wound to invalid you from the trenches. With the authority of first-hand knowledge Hodson outlines the way sandbags help pass the injury off as enemy fire.
Till the interval it’s possible to dismiss the play with its picture of trench-life, and off-duty songs in a French café, as well-carpentered reportage. Even here, Phil Sealey’s fine-singing Corporal shows how different songs create hearty comradeship and act as outlet for sentimental sadness. Then things grow grimmer. Simon McCoy’s ex-private Whitman returns as an officer who swiftly reaches command when more senior officers are killed. Friendships are threatened by suspicions fomented under the pressure of fear. There’s recognition too of positive human qualities, while the culmination seems more inevitable for occurring through a final-moment accident.
The cast, suitably youthful - young men mainly filled the front-lines - play with conviction in Tricia Thorns’ production, which displays the variety Hodson’s play presents: a real community of personalities brought suddenly together. Political comment arises naturally and is intensified by implication through the action, while human relationships – that of Hardcastle and Whitman in particular - have immediacy against the background of passing characters: a sharp-tongued officer, cries for stretcher-bearers. This memorable production shows war's impact on a very human scale.
Stella Hardcastle/Yvette: Katherine Lehar
Private John Hardcastle: Jonathan Warde
Private Robin McTaggart: Stuart Nicoll
Private Ronald Whitman: Simon McCoy
Private, DCLI/ Private Charles Morton/2nd Orderly Corporal/Runner: Elliott Inglese
Captain Wilson/1st Orderly Corporal/Corporal Winstanley: John Gillespie
Corporal Ian Haslam/Orderly Sergeant: Phil Sealey
Private Syd Summers: Leo Conville
Private Harry Hollinwood: Simon Spencer-Hyde
Claire: Sarah-Ann Isnard
Director: Tricia Thorns
Designer: Alex Marker
Lighting: Alex Warson
Sound: Gareth Fry
2005-11-15 17:09:33