Review: OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR, Southwark Playhouse

Revolutionising musical theatre when it first premiered in 1963, Joan Littlewood’s Oh What A Lovely War found humour in expressing its anti-war sentiments to songs popular for the period, even garnering a film adaptation directed by Richard Attenborough. Educating and shocking people over the last 60 years, Blackeyed Theatre celebrates its landmark anniversary with a major UK tour, including a run in the Southwark Playhouse Borough.

A series of musical vignettes that puts a lens to the convoluted game that caused the war to end all wars, Littlewood’s script remains biting in its criticism of the callousness towards the mass loss of human lives and questions whether the four years of fighting in the trenches was worth it.

Nicky Allpress’ amazing direction finds that tonal balance of comedy and tragedy through contrasting caricatured stereotypes to haunting political propaganda projected onstage, creating a sense of pathos by the time 1914 Christmas truce happens near the end of act one. While some of the humour feels outdated and the pacing loses steam in act two as it struggles to connect scenes that often outstay their welcome, they’re still worth sitting through for its emotionally powerful ending.

Taking the metaphorical political circus literally is Victoria Spearing’s simple yet beautiful set. A whimsical, yet worn out, circus tent that showcases the horrific projections of body count statistics and propaganda fits the auditorium’s intimacy, with Alan Valentine’s atmospheric lighting creating a sense of dread. Naomi Gibbs’ dazzling commedia dell'arte inspired costumes and make-up also find the balance between the satire and tragedy of the war, with characters one minute looking like buffoonish clowns, and demonic monsters the next.

What really elevates this production is the talented actor-muso group. Seamlessly switching between characters (and instruments) thanks to Adam Haigh’s slick movement direction, all of its six actors are instantly likeable and have their moment to shine. Harry Curley is laugh-out-loud hilarious as a clownish drill sergeant, while Christopher Arkeston is confident the master of ceremonies strumming his ukulele, and Alice E Mayer brings cheekiness as she starts an audience singalong of the tongue-twisting Sister Susie’s Sewing Sheets. Chioma Uma brings emotion as a nurse singing Keep The Home Fires Burning while Euan Wilson brings heart-aching humanity as a German soldier during the Christmas Truce, with Tom Crabtree offering silliness and bravado to his many comedic roles.

While the show may not feel as revolutionary as it did 60 years ago and its second act feels significantly weaker than its first, there’s much humour and honesty to find in this production of Oh What A Lovely War. Still carrying emotional weight in its anti-war message told by its stunning direction and phenomenal six-piece cast, it showcases the horrors and ridiculousness of a moment in history that we could learn one or two things from now.

Check out director Nicky Allpress' blog about the show for BroadwayWorld here.

Oh What A Lovely War runs at Southwark Playhouse Borough until December 9.

Photo Credit: Alex Harvey-Brown

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