Birdsong

To describe this production as ambitious would be gross understatement. Turning over 500 pages of fiction spanning three generations is a pretty tall order – so hats off to the company for pulling together a credible drama. That said it does in many ways fail to engage, the flashbacks are disjointed and hard to follow and the complex and visually striking set is confused and at times fails to work. Transitions from the horror of the dug-outs to the Amiens garden simply fail. The cast do a pretty good job conveying the huge story and there are some very fine performances (and beautiful musical moments) but at times it seems like the whole is a rapid fire précis rather than a complete work.

Casting Arthur Bostrom in a role with a heavy French accent simply had the audience tittering, which is sad as he plays all his parts so well. Charlie G Hawkins is excellent as the 15 year old who lies to enlist and meet his death. I was less convinced by Jonathan Smith who seemed to be damaged emotionally from the very start and lost my sympathy, despite his horrific story.

Playwright Rachel Wagstaff’s script is creditable but for me the task was too great and in the end could only ever skim the surface of Sebastian Faulks’ epic novel.

Theatre Royal Brighton, 29 July 2013

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