The celebrated entertainment from the devising and creative ensemble of actors in Stratford East, known as The Theatre Workshop, under the strict control of none other than Joan Littlewood, 'Oh What A Lovely War' is one of the few pieces of their theatre to survive into the present day. And it was not an easy piece for them, especially Joan Littlewood herself, since the wearing of uniforms and the dogged following of the populus to any kind of dogma or cause was something she railed against. However, when she insisted her company wear pierrot costumes and presnt it as an end-of-pier entertainment, she unintentionally created a work of genius which ensured its longivety.
In this production by Blackeyed Theatre at Blackpool's Grand Theatre, the pierrot costumes had been replaced by fin-de-ciecle circus wear, which seemed an appropriate substitute, and the set too had that Victorian circus feel to it. The multi-talented cast of six were all actor-musicians and a whole variety of instruments were played both for the songs and the sound effects this evening.
However, the biggest problem inherent with this was the fact that there were indeed only six cast members. I was not around to witness the original production by The Theatre Workshop but imagine there must have been a larger ensemble than this. Going back more than 30 years and I myself was in a production of this musical which was made up of a small band, separate from the actors, and a chorus / ensemble too. I have since seen only two other productions of this show, and both used larger casts than this. Six works... or at least it has been made to work; but it is bare. To have a full chorus song with harmonies and the music all being provided for by just six people sounded very sparce and it lacked.
Director Nicky Alpress has worked well with these six people to create what she has, it is faithful to the spirit of the original, but sadly partly due to the lack of numbers, but also due to the lack of microphones, it failed to carry on the Grand's stage this evening. Seated as I was to the rear of the circle, I was struggling to hear much of what was being said and sung. The music drowning the voices for the singing, and much of the dialogue was inaudible.
The lighting design was insufficient and distracting. Faces could not be seen clearly enough, and the stage was in semi-shadow, especially at the edges, for most of the show.
This evening's performance lacked energy and spontaneity too sadly. Admittedly the auditorium was only a third full at best, but the production lacked oomph! The one thing which truly makes this piece of theatre special is the dichotomy between and the bathos created by the entertainment and fun of an end-of-pier show ( "the ever-popular war games" ), and the fact that their entertainment is lampooning and satirising the First World War. When the performances become too serious, too melancholic, too full of pathos, then the production becomes a little sluggish and moves away from the original intent of the show. This evening's production was very much in danger of doing this on several occasions, and many of the songs were given too much weight.
One further point to consider would be that this entertainment is a period piece, stuck in a style of performance which not only has no relevance to today, but it is also not in any of the audience's living memory. Pierrots, End-of-pier entertainments, Victorian clowning, and indeed all the names, references, and songs, are all wrapped in a time capsule. There was nothing in this particular reimagining of the show which a modern audience could latch on to.
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