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Stars explained: * A production of no real merit
with failings in all areas. ** A production showing evidence of not
enough time or effort, or even talent, and which never breathes any real
life into the piece – or a show lumbered with a terrible script. *** A
good enjoyable show which might have some small flaws but has largely
achieved what it set out to do.**** An excellent show which shows a
great deal of work and stage craft with no noticeable or major
flaws.***** A four star show which has found that extra bit of magic
which lifts theatre to another plane. |
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Last of the summer vin
Heroes
Swan Theatre Studio, Worcester
***** IF you were to
blend Last of the Summer Wine
with Three Men in a Boat,
complete with dog Montmorency of course, then season with a little
Beckett here and there, then you would perhaps get a
flavour of
Heroes. It is a sort of French
Odd Couple,
except it is a trio, or a quartet if you count the dog; witty, acerbic,
gentle, poignant and gloriously funny. The play is set in 1959 on the terrace of an old
soldiers’ home somewhere in rural France – the back terrace mind, not
the front one which is crowded with mad men – a home run by nuns under
Sister Madeleine. In this world of old soldiers we find three
veterans of the Great War who spend their last days reminiscing, joking,
irritating each other, and planning adventures that will never happen
but will pass the time. There are the conspiracies about the mysterious
Sister Madeleine and the death sentence of birthdays, the funerals as
old soldiers join the regiments in the skies, and the world beyond the
walls, all seen through the eyes of our three old soldiers. There is Gustave, (Martin Bourne) dapper in three
piece suit and trilby, an aristocrat, so he tells us, with withering put
downs, and a fear of going outside the walls of the home. He is a
boastful bully of a man, although we never quite get to know what he is
so boastful about. Then there is Henri, (Paul Bellamy) with a gammy
leg, a born enthusiast to the
There is a nice touch as Henri sweeps the fallen
leaves from what after a quarter of a century has become his terrace.
The house-proud resident.
Between old stager and newcomer is Philippe,
(Peter Baio) a ten year veteran, who has a chunk of shrapnel floating
around his head which causes him to pass out on a regular basis, awaking
loudly amid some sexual fantasy with a dressmaker – sexual fantasies
being somewhat of a hobby with Philippe. He sits firmly on the fence in all matters that
need anything approaching a decision and is happiest bitching about
Sister Madeleine. It is all leading up to the great adventure, a
trip to Indochina . . . or an expedition to the poplars that can be seen
just past the cemetery from the terrace? Heroes was translated, and adapted by Tom
Stoppard from the original Le Vent des Peupliers (The Wind in the
Poplars) by Parisian playwright and actor Gerald Sibleyras, who was
born, incidentally, two years after his play is set The English title came about as it was feared the
direct translation would leave audiences confused with The Wind in
the Willows. Director Keith Thompson has kept to the spirit of
studio productions with a minimalist set of a few terrace chairs, a
table and a dog, which is all it needs: this is a play about Stoppard’s
wonderful words and wit, the little asides, the unexpected grenades, the
quick retorts which help keep a play where, in truth, nothing much
happens, moving along at a cracking pace. The cast are excellent, feeding off each other,
adding knowing looks and exasperated glances to spot-on timing in a
splendid production. But, and isn’t there always a but, sadly it is hard
to generate any real empathy for the characters, which is no fault of
cast or director I hasten to add, but of the play itself. The trio never develop much beyond the two
dimensional simply because the script does not allow it; we know very
little more about them as people at the end than we discovered in the
first five minutes of the opening scene. We know Gustave was married and
Henri wasn’t, Philippe has a sister whose husband is a moron and that is
about it. What they did in the war, what they did since,
where they are from, who they really are is as big a mystery at the end
as it was at the start. What you are left with though is still a
pleasure to watch, a very funny, gentle comedy where time flies by to
that most precious of theatrical commodities, an accompanying chorus of
constant laughter. To 23-08-14 Roger Clarke
19-08-14 |
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extent that one day he will even be an
enthusiastic corpse according to Gustave. He takes great delight in
walking to the village, despite his lameness, so he can see the young
schoolmistress with who he has a, literally, nodding relationship. After
25 years in the home he is now almost a part of the terrace while
Gustave, only there six months, is still finding his way.