Download Evaluation of `Oh What A Lovely War`

Evaluation of ‘Oh What A Lovely War’
The author Joan Littlewood wanted to bring the British population’s
attention to the denial of the tragic deaths of the soldiers in the First
World War and the power of the propaganda. This was shown
beautifully in the production at the Tobacco factory on the November
19th, performed by the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School.
The performance of the play ‘Oh What a Lovely War’ at the Tobacco
factory was very different to what I expected. My initial thoughts of the
play when we had a pre-performance workshop was that it was a
comedy with timeless jokes throughout, and that even the more serious
parts were supposed to be funny. However I was pleasantly surprised
when the war scenes were performed with such melancholy that it
brought the whole meaning of the play forward. The contrast between
the pantomime and the deaths of the soldiers out at the trenches really
engaged the audience with the play’s meaning and the author’s
intentions.
The production was performed in a converted tobacco factory that is
now a very successful theatre. The stage was a thrust stage with
audience at three sides. The connexion between the actors and the
audience is very important in Littlewood’s plays; the stage played a
large role in enhancing this relationship. Throughout most of the
performance there were lights on the audience so the actors could see
the audience and interact with us more. There were also copies of the
original propaganda posters hanging on the walls around the
audience. The posters made me feel a part of the performance and
involved with the action. The use of space was very effective. The
stage was set out like a traditional 1914’s stage with coloured lights
hanging between two columns. However in parts of the performance
one forgot it was a play on a stage but a form of entertainment. Three
of the entrances and exits came through the audience’s space, also
enhancing the relationship between the actors and the audience. The
entrances on the actual stage were not on the side but at the back, so
the actors came through the back with the more dramatic entrances
and exits.
A lot of the characters are based on stereotypes, this adds to the
panto feel of the play because the characters are exaggerated. The
costumes were also stereotypical to the character. The Russian
generals all had Shapkas and were played by quite tall and broad
men. However the French generals had little moustaches and were
played very flamboyantly. The women dressed like show girls from the
First World War, to show the period that the play is set in. When a scene
was set in Britain, the costumes were colourful, however when there
was a scene in the trenches, the costumes were dark, uniform colours.
There was also a contrast with the lighting. When there was a trench
scene, the lighting would be dappled and low, so the actors’ faces
couldn’t be seen properly. There were spotlights of greens, blues and
white that overlapped each other. In the ‘home ground’ scenes the
lighting was a warm wash so there wasn’t that same feeling of mystery.
A lot of songs were composed in the First World War to raise hopes and
to keep the morale of the public going. So the songs, that frequently
appeared, enabled the audience to feel the underlying desperation
and true sadness the characters are feeling in this war. The idea that
the propaganda covered up the truth and masked what was really
going on came through from the stereotypical characters and
costume. The make-up was also overdone to emphasize this point. The
live music performances just added to the atmosphere in a way that
pre-recorded songs wouldn’t. Only the sound effects had been
programmed.
The acting was very energetic and engaging. There wasn’t a big cast
so many of the actors played two or more of the characters, However
it wasn’t confusing because each character had a different way of
moving and use of voice. A lot of the time the actors used accents to
convey where the character lived. In the scene where the soldiers are
being taught how to load a gun, the actor who plays the major does
an exaggerated walk and kept on looking at the audience with a
piercing eye. The characters were like moving caricatures. There was a
lot of dancing as well as singing, this also added to the style of the
piece.
Overall I think it was a fun and energetic play to watch. The contrast
and tension that was created throughout the play was very good.
However I didn’t understand a lot of the jokes, partly because they
were jokes about people I had never heard of. So maybe it would
have been helpful if I had done some research beforehand on the First
World War. I went away thinking about all the men that had died in the
First World War, and how their deaths had been played down, just to
boost moral. Facts were shouted out in intervals throughout the play
that just seem to hit me round the face. Before I had watched this play
I thought the First World was boring and didn’t understand why it was
such a big deal. However I feel the play had enlightened me about
the subject and I am very grateful for that.
by Lola Russell