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New wars, same old story
Rules of engagement: Emma Rollason as Kate Mulligan and John Flitcroft as Jacko. Pictures: Graeme Braidwood Wounded Birmingham Repertory Theatre at the TA Centre
Kings Heath *** WITH Remembrance Sunday just round the
corner, this drama featuring two casualties of war separated by nearly
100 years looks at a timely subject. Beyond the headlines are the victims – those
left injured in body and mind on the battlefields of the world. Here we see two parallel stories – that of
Private Alfred Seddon, left blinded in a shell hole on the Western Front
in 1917, and that of Combat Medical Technician Kate Mulligan, shot in
Afghanistan in 2012. Both are receiving treatment in a hospital in
Birmingham and across the decades they reach out to each other. Each carries their own guilt and it is only
through recognising the courage of each other that they are able to
reconcile themselves to their own sets of circumstances.
Written by Jenny Stephens and directed by Steve
Ball, Wounded is a thought-provoking drama. Its touches of humour and
deep sadness only serve to help us empathise all the more with the two
lead characters played with a good deal of enthusiasm by Ben Callon and
Emma Rollason. At times the pace is a little slow – not least
when the two characters first meet in the hospital ward. But as their
tales unfold and their strange relationship develops we do respond to
their personal crises – which serve as microcosmic mirrors reflecting
the millions of people left battle-scarred by conflict. Setting the drama in the TA Centre ensures
Wounded is performed in quite a concentrated space so that the action is
taking place just feet in front of the audience. The setting does add an
extra dimension but be warned, it is a bit chilly and the seats are not
the most comfortable. At this time of year though when so many people
are donning their poppies and reading Wilfred Owen, Wounded reminds us
that in many ways war does not change. Its motives, landscapes and
weapons may differ but at the centre is the human experience whether
that be betrayal, pain and anger or forgiveness, love and redemption. Until 10 November. Diane Parkes
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