REVIEW - OH WHAT A LOVELY WAR

I have been to a lot of theatre shows in London recently so was excited to only have to venture to Basildon for my next theatre fix. So naturally it was the day of the train strike and as I don’t drive it meant a LONG bus trip, and I arrived just as the front of house tannoy announced there was 1 minute till the show started. But it was SOO worth the trek!

“Oh What a Lovely War” produced by Blackeyed Theatre in association with South Hill Park is a super fast paced upbeat story telling of the First World War based on Joan Littlewoods original production from 1963. I didn’t know of this piece of theatre so was curious whether it was the companies decision to set it within a variety vaudeville scene. After reading up this was true to the original. Such a brilliant idea. The contrast between the clowning and the sombre facts projected onto the backdrop made for some really funny and chilling moments. There were many withdrawal of breaths from the audience at some of the more upsetting statistics.

The cast were SO talented. The list of their talents was endless. Acting. Accents. Playing multiple instruments. Along with the singing, constant costume changes and dance movement sections the six strong cast never had a break. But their energy and commitment was flawless. As they come to the end of their tour I hope they feel so proud of what they’ve created and sustained. 

The only slight criticism I could mention would be it was slightly confusing to start with, as I didn’t know anything about the show beforehand. But once it got going I was fully swept up in the frolics. There’s also some fun audience interaction. The perfect amount to get the enthusiastic audience members singing but not enough to make the introverts squirm.

I really liked the set (Victoria Spearing) and costume (Naomi Gibbs) designs – I thought the colours were thoughtfully chosen and all tied together perfectly. There were also really clever use of lots of simple props; like a moustache stuck on to one of the drum sticks. Sometimes the simpler the idea the more rewarding for the audience. And this show was full of them. I loved the washing line.

I would 100% recommend going to watch this production – so if you’ve got no plans tomorrow head on down to the Towngate in Basildon. This show and even more so this incredible cast deserves a full house. But you only have tomorrow to catch it! Book your tickets here!

We received complimentary tickets for this production.