Bletchley Park is a country estate outside Milton Keynes in Buckinghamshire, and was used during the second world war as a secret code-breaking school and facility, intercepting and decoding enemy messages, which were then passed on to the relevant armed force to action as appropriate. Due to its secrecy, both its location, and even existence were never acknowledged or divulged until long after the war had finished, and those working there also had to lie about their work and whereabouts in order to maintain this secrecy.
Mancunians will be more aware of this perhaps than many, as the Bletchley Park facility was where the Enigma code was broken, and local LGBTQ hero Alan Turing was employed. However, this particular musical concerned itself with the band of female employees whose work there was just as important, just as secret, and yet has gone unrecognised. This musical tries therefore, at least in part, to rectify this injustice.
This musical's historical accuracy is meticulously researched; it is such a huge pity that the same can not be said of the six cast members' costumes, make-up, deportment and speech. The set was impressive for a small-scale fringe theatre company. Some trouble had been made to try and make the whole look as authentic as possible, with decoding machines, period photographs, wireless, globe, maps etc; whilst a large screen at the rear of the stage ameliorated this with archive footage of Pathe newsreels and Churchill's speeches.
The show started well enough. The company coming forward to sing their opening number; using their own lyrics to tell the story and set the scene to the tune of 'In The Mood'. This was a nice idea and the 1940s feel of the show was cleverly brought to life through the music and the choreography. However, it became abundantly clear that these six actresses needed vocal amplification, not just in their singing, but also in their dialogue too. I was sitting on the front row of a small fringe theatre and still was unable to hear much of what was being said and sung.
The main story concerns these six young ladies' crucial part in the D-Day landings, and for bringing this story to our attention, (one that I was certainly unaware of previously), huge commendation and applause should be given. However, this story was diffused and obfuscated by too many other sub-plots concerning the ladies' personal lives. There was lesbianism, unmarried pregnancy, and one not being able to continue work after marriage. Relevant as these themes might be to the era, it did feel like the company was trying to perhaps box-tick by including such storylines.
The denouement of the show had the cast of six singing and performing towards the front of the stage, whilst on the screen at the rear, the historical information pertaining each storyline was given. Sadly however, the screen was obscured from view for majority of this. Perhaps the writing could have been written higher or elsewhere, or maybe the cast could have performed on the stage's extremities.
This one hour show is worth seeing, if only to learn about the role of some of the unsung heroines of the war and what their jobs actually entailed; but the whole lacks oomph and dynamic drive.
Reviewer - Matthew Dougall
on - 13.8.22
on - 13.8.22
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