Walk along the West End or Broadway and you can collect up the range of names for the theatres in the ‘homes of theatre’ but can you match then with the local theatres and playhouses across the country or indeed in your community? Take Oldham for example…do you know the Coliseum? The Grange? How about The Lyceum?
Yes, this hidden gem is exactly that…a gem and hidden. Down a staircase, on the corner of its landmark Union Street, this theatre is, as it so rightly says on its website ‘Amateur Theatre at its best!’, and this week’s offering of ‘Heroes’ by Gerald Sibleyras (translated by Tom Stoppard) further upholds that statement. In a year of deserved celebration of the centenary anniversary of the end of WW1, we are all too aware of the sacrifices made by soldiers, and the mass of army support workers, whether present through the names on a cenotaph, the recollection of stories about ancestors or the physical evidence of affected ex-servicemen; amputations, disfigurements or the mental or emotional impacts, we remain forever proud and grateful in our remembrance.
After the due marking of Armistice Day, this playful, bawdy and heartbreakingly funny play, set in 1959 in the garden of a rest home for veteran soldiers in France, is a lovely way to spare a thought for those who have been through the process of war, albeit (and welcomed) in a more light-hearted way. We meet Henri (Phil McCarthy), Philippe (Vince Kenn) and Gustave (Paul Gledhill) - war heroes, all - as they present their bond, despite Gustav being the relative newbie of the quartet (wait!...you’ll see) having only arrived 6 months ago. Henri is the smartly dressed one who suffers with mobility from a leg injury but still manages, with his stick, to undertake his daily routine or ‘constitutional’ walk out of the grounds. Gustave, however, stays in and admires the poplars up in the distance past the cemetery and struggles to get out of the grounds; could it be PTSD? Philippe suffers blackouts where he faints and awakes with the words “yes Captain, we’ll take them from behind” which we eventually find is nothing to do with the forces but the reason for his ‘episodes’ is; a head injury.
Despite their friendship, plans are brewing when Philippe suspects that he is due to be bumped off because of his date of birth, this feeds Henri’s suggestion for them to escape, initially ‘for a picnic’ after he learns that the terrace below on the complex is to be closed meaning that the other inhabitants of the home will have to share theirs! Meanwhile Gustave is delivering sarcasm, reading and responding to Philippe’s post and fighting the corner of their fourth ally…the statue of a dog which adorns their terrace.
With almost seamless acting, brilliantly believable characterisation and embodiment of realistic veterans and their mission and what can only be described as a truly and astonishingly incredible set, the team of comrades plot their escape from ‘the tortures of their confinement: dictatorial captors, untrustworthy fellow ‘prisoners’, and far too many birthday parties.’ They hatch a plan to escape to Indochina and have us all in giggles throughout. With only a few pauses and an odd scene involving rope, it is no surprise that this comedic play was the winner of the Olivier Award for Best New Comedy in 2005.
With a representative from a regional theatre collective due to review it too, I can almost guarantee the highly passionate and welcoming team at LTO (Lyceum Theatre Oldham) will have as good a turn out as they had tonight, and boy is it well worth it! May I therefore thank Director Pauline Walsh and her more than capable team for their tremendous efforts and hard work and I look forward to returning again soon, be it this season or next.
Reviewer - John Kristof
on - 23/11/18
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