Oh! What a Lovely War

Published Monday 15 September 2008 at 14:00 by Ian Barge

Taking on Oh! What a Lovely War with a cast of five is some challenge, but it is what one has come to expect of Blackeyed Theatre, one of the most innovative, audacious companies working in contemporary English theatre.

For the Courtyard, hosting the production prior to its national tour launch, this is a magnificent tenth anniversary treat.

Under Adrian McDougall’s incisive direction, Blackeyed make spectacular nonsense of the concept of limited resources. Such is the energy, versatility and inventiveness of the cast, they are able to recreate so much of the collaborative improvisation which was the hallmark of Littlewood’s original sixties production with Theatre Workshop. This can be so easily lost, notably in the film version, under layers of lacquered gloss, however brilliant.

Intimacy and immediacy are certainly the most impressive aspects of the Blackeyed performances. In the small Courtyard mainhouse, there is almost a studio rapport between actors and audience. Without mikes or any pre-recorded soundscape, the cast generate an extraordinary electrical charge. All sentimentality is ruthlessly undercut by the satirical savagery so crucial to Joan Littlewood’s vision. The singing is as haunting as it is harrowing, again deliberately unpolished in parts to provide a poignant authenticity.

The counterpoint between slide-projected war images, stark statistics and the delusional hypocrisy of official attitudes assumes a lacerating contemporary relevance with the inclusion of images drawn from Iraq, the Falklands and Northern Ireland, as well as the familiar iconic First World War trench photographs.

Any assumption that Oh! What a Lovely War is a period piece is shot to shrapnel. Forty years on, we need Littlewood’s vision more than ever. Blackeyed Theatre restore it to us with astonishing power. Catch it if you can.