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Wipers
B2 Stage
Belgrade Theatre, Coventry
***** SET in Ypres, Belgium, in October 1914
this emotionally charged play written masterfully by Ishy Din and
directed artfully by Suba Das grabs the audience’s attention from the
outset. The open set, a huge old barn, with its skeleton
of tall beams and littered with interesting pieces of farming
paraphernalia, calmly engages the aud The dark threatening corners become apparent and
the smell of constant danger delivers the tension and atmospheric
feeling to perfection. The play is inspired by a true story of the First
Battle of Ypres (or Wipers as it became known to British troops) and
tells the story of a group of Asian soldiers and a British Army officer
thrown together as they seek refuge from the heat of battle. In the distance the sound of gunfire can be
heard. As the story unfolds we discover that this is an Indian soldier
holding off the enemy troops single-handedly. That soldier is Khudadad
Khan, the first non- British person to receive the Victoria Cross.
We never meet the brave and revered Khudadad, but
his story is cleverly told through the other characters, Sadiq (Simon
Rivers), Thomas (Jassa Ahluwalia) AD (Sartaj Garewal) and Ayub (Waleed
Akhtar) . All four have stories of their own which are told
against a backdrop of cultural and class differences, ignorance, fear,
anger, tension and ultimately brotherhood and comradery. It is
impossible to single out any of these actors, they each bring their
roles to life with strong, outstanding performances full of palpable
emotion. There is a clever use of dialect and accent which
gives the suggestion of sections being spoken in Punjabi, with the Asian
soldiers switching quickly and convincingly between a stilted English
accent when speaking ‘English’ and a more regional accent when speaking
‘Punjabi’. Although this is a highly charged emotional
drama, it is not short of humour. There is a delightful scene where non
English speaking AD (Garewal) is cooking daal (using his bayonet as a
kitchen knife) whilst non Punjabi speaking Thomas (Ahluwalia) attempts
to assist. Not only does it break the tension with humour but also a
mouth-watering aroma wafting into the audience. Full of little known historical facts, this play
is indeed a masterclass of storytelling, powerful acting, and attention
to detail. It is a genuine team effort and every member of the
production has excelled. The effects, the lighting, the sound, the
direction, the script, the staging, the costume all make this play what
it is – superb. Highly recommended. To 21-05-16. Rosemary Manjunath and Elizabeth Smith 12-05-16
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ience
before being thrown firmly into the pursuing action by a sudden
explosion of gunfire.