Heroes

Published Wednesday 17 February 2010 at 16:10 by Julie Watterston

This delightful study of three war heroes spending their last years in a retirement home for ex-servicemen is a touching view on the combined effects of war, old age and personal characteristics developed over a lifetime.

David Fielder, Michael Hadley and Christopher Ettridge in Heroes at the Watermill, Newbury Photo: Mike Eddowes

Set on the veranda of the home, Philippe, Henri and Gustave meet every day to while away the time. They are all very different characters who complement each other beautifully within the setting of the play. Philippe, played by Christopher Etteridge, suffers from a shrapnel wound which renders him unconscious without warning, Henri, played by David Fielder, enjoys his daily constitutional walk and the added excitement of watching the young ladies from a local girls school, despite a leg injury and Gustave, played by Michael Hadley, is the authoritative figure whose self-assured confidence belies an agoraphobic condition.

Ettridge, Fielder and Hadley work perfectly as a team, blending the characters’ foibles into their amusingly poignant plan to ‘escape’ from the home and go on an adventure that is realistically never going to happen.

The play is full of delicious anecdotes, gentle humour and brilliant one-liners, with compelling direction from Paul Hart on Andrew D Edwards’ convincing set.