Nottingham Theatre Royal – until Saturday 19 October 2024
Reviewed by Louise Ford
4****
Fighting for Peace
The novel Birdsong was written by Sebastian Faulks in 1993, as part of his French trilogy. In these novels, Faulks is attempting to keep the memories and stories of WW1 alive and in the public consciousness. Lest we forget.
The novel is over 500 pages and interweaves the events pre, post and during the war. To bring the novel to the stage is a huge task and this current production for Original Theatre was written by Rachel Wagstaff. Whilst the play doesn’t attempt to reproduce the novel on stage it does draw on the main themes and story from the original work. The production is in three acts and for me, the first act felt very “bitty” and rushed. Everyone seemed to be running on or off stage. The second and third acts were for me better paced and developed.
The set designed by Richard Kent is quite minimal and abstract, however, it manages to transform and transport the audience from the turn of the 20th-century drawing room to deep within the trenches in the Somme. The lighting (Jason Taylor) and music (Sophie Cotton), all enhance the transformation and settings. In addition to the music the singing in particular Brennan (played by James Findlay) was moving and at times comic which sums up the wartime songs and ditties.
The story revolves around Stephen Wraysford (James Esler), at the beginning a young Lincolnshire lad sent to France by his guardian. Stephen, uncertain and idealistic, falls in love with his host’s wife, Isabelle Azaire (Charlie Russell). Their turbulent affair and subsequent separation lead to Stephen returning to the UK and Isabelle returning to her husband
The second act is set in France around the early days of the Somme. Stephen is a lieutenant in the British Army. He has been wounded and is now in the trenches with his men. Stephen is distant from his men and bitter with the war. The idealistic young man has been replaced by a hardened soldier. As well as the rank and file soldiers there are also sappers and sewer men. Max Bowden plays Jack Firebrace, a former miner, employed in the trenches to dig tunnels, listen for the enemy and to plant explosives. One of the most poignant roles was that of Tipper (Raif Clarke), an underage lad who enlisted in the army. The relationship between the sappers and Stephen is at times touching and humorous. The dark jokes and “black” humour are all good coping mechanisms for dealing with such dreadful events and building up the camaraderie between the men.
The final act draws on the dreadful events of the Battle of the Somme and the aftermath of the war. The story goes full circle back to Stephen’s great-grandson looking for Stephen’s grave in France.
Birdsong is perhaps one of the most complicated and ambitious productions that I have watched in many years. It is a triumph of drawing the audience into the story and presenting the conflicting faces of war. It showcases the heroism, the hypocrisy and the futility of war. As we approach Remembrance Day we should all take time to remember all of the victims of war and in particular those who made the ultimate sacrifice.