Oh What a Lovely War, Theatre Royal, Stratford East - theatre review

Joan Littlewood's epic musical about the First World War makes a triumphant return to the trenches
13 February 2014

Joan Littlewood was a visionary theatre maker whose epic musical about the First World War, based around songs sung by the soldiers, seemed a landmark in the art of satire when it premiered in 1963. Here it’s lovingly revived by Terry Johnson at the east London venue where it was first performed.

Littlewood was partly inspired by her loathing of R C Sherriff’s play Journey’s End, which saw the conflict from the perspective of the officers.

She chose to concentrate on ordinary soldiers — their suffering and camaraderie as well as their twinges of scepticism or naivety. Here the show feels unfocused for the first 20 minutes. But then the song “Belgium put the kibosh on the Kaiser” works its jaunty magic, and from that point the rhythm is much more sure.

The brutal imagery of trench warfare alternates with peppy musical routines, while an electronic display panel parades grim statistics (“28,000 British dead, gained 5 yards”).

Caroline Quentin is the biggest name in the cast, and has two standout moments — first as a music-hall artiste encouraging men to enlist, and later as an eloquent pacifist who gets pelted with abuse (and worse). Shaun Prendergast, in his main role as master of ceremonies, has the wry knowingness of a pantomime dame (a guise in which he has previously excelled). And Michael Simkins brilliantly evokes the blinkered arrogance of a ruling class shockingly ill-equipped for leadership.

There’s a homespun feel about Johnson’s production which is true to the spirit of the original while also making deft use of projections (the video design is by Ian William Galloway). Lez Brotherston’s set resembles an adventure playground — albeit one fringed with intricate gold ornament.

The show remains didactic and certainly doesn’t present a charitable vision of the American contribution to the war effort, while there’s a strong Sixties sensibility in its picture of working-class lions being exploited by upper-class donkeys.

Yet this revival pulses with skill and ardour. It is at its best not in the episodes of brisk comedy but in its moments of poignancy, notably during the 1914 Christmas truce, which is almost unbearably moving.

Until March 15 (020 8534 0310, stratfordeast.com)

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