Review: Oh What a Lovely War (Touring)

Thursday, 22nd February 2024 at Harrogate Theatre

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Blackeyed Theatre’s latest offering is a rambunctious take on Joan Littlewood’s Oh What a Lovely War. A controversial piece from a controversial writer, this show takes no prisoners as it mocks the donkeys leading the lions of World War One, and holds nothing back when it comes to confronting audiences with the breathtaking scale of fatal blunders. Helmed by a gifted cast of actor-musicians, this production takes audiences through the highs of energetic farce to the lows of sobering wartime statistics in a frenzy of music and foolery.

We are met by a band of Pierrots – dressed in classic stripes and various combinations of makeshift show costumes with military embellishments (costume designer: Naomi Gibbs), they’re ready to perform in this satirical circus of inevitable doom. They perform a host of known wartime ditties and folk songs of a more farcical nature (musical director: Ellie Verkerk) while running through events of the “war to end all wars”.

The cast are wonderful and balance the tragi-comedy of the piece very nicely under direction of Nicky Allpress. Tom Crabtree and Tom Benjamin have standout comic timing and handle classic foolery and risible pomp equally well. Alice Mayer is a class act across the board, with a playful twinkle never being far from the surface, while Chioma Uma delivers heartfelt vocals along with her own winning take on the put-upon soldier.

Euan Wilson has some of the most hilarious physical moments of the piece – made all the more comical for his knowing expressiveness under the Pierrot face paint, and Harry Curley is a real force of nature, taking the crown as both the comic stand-out and the most impressively versatile of musicians. Highlights include the soldiers in training, the sharply choreographed housewives at the washing line, and the harpooning of those famous propaganda posters – and Curley is the cornerstone to all of them.

The cast also carry the music with great energy, often playing a range of instruments within any one song – though there is a recurring issue with the live music drowning out some of the lyrics, which does scupper clarity in places (or at least did at this show). Nonetheless, while movement director Adam Haigh keeps us entertained with lively ensemble pieces, Clive Elkington’s projections bring us back to reality with a thud, keeping track of foolish decisions, negligence, casualties and fatalities as we go. Somehow, despite knowing the facts of World War One (and others since) in a general way, we forget the magnitude and callousness of them – as far as the union of comedy and tragedy go, it rarely gets more sharply felt than this.

Naturally, mixing show tunes with wartime tragedy hits on many moments of jarring discord, yet while there’s plenty of power in the sharp tone shifts between silliness and grim reality, and there’s plenty of entertainment in the musical sequences, one of the more engaging moments comes when our actors are given time to settle into a lengthier scene. When they go about bringing us that famous Christmas Eve which saw enemies become ordinary blokes again for some short-lived respite, we’re confronted with something more gently moving. Having such a scene within such an untameable beast of a show carries great power I think.

Oh What a Lovely War is such a clever play, merging joy and sorrow to offer a scathing reminder of the brutal facts of the “Great War” – and offering an ever-relevant reminder of the importance of worthy leaders.

Blackeyed Theatre’s Oh What a Lovely War continues its tour until May 2024 – more information and tickets can be found here.