Review | Birdsong at Chichester Festival Theatre: 'Conjures the nightmare of life in the trenches'
And so the Winter Season kicks off at Chichester with Rachel Wagstaff’s adaptation of Sebastian Faulks’ First World War epic, Birdsong.
Faulks fans will know that the book itself is a chunky volume and this is reflected in the play; on press night the show started at 7.30pm and we were leaving the theatre at 10.45pm – so be aware of that if you’re planning a visit.
The other thing that struck me was that – despite the length – one got the feeling that we were getting a skeletonised version of the story – much of the meat being removed for the sake of pace – and that created a barrier. The feeling that we were getting the dish without the sauce led me, certainly, to not fully engage with the hero, Stephen Wraysford (James Esler in his professional stage debut).
Perhaps it was a mistake to cast a newcomer in such a psychologically-challenging role; while drama-school can teach you the basics, the complexity of Wraysford as a person requires more experience of life. That said, if this is Esler as a newcomer he’s certainly going to be one to watch in the coming years.
There is some beautiful work from Max Bowden as Jack Firebrand. The sapper who’s separated from his wife and dying son is played with a vitality and an honesty that are a joy to watch and the vocals provided by James Findlay are astonishingly beautiful and heart-wrenching.
The company also supply the backing-vocals beautifully. Added to this is a wonderfully understated performance by Raif Clarke as Tipper, the youngster who lies about his age to get into the army and regrets it almost immediately.
As sisters Isabelle and Jeanne Azaire, Charlie Russell and Natalie Radmall-Quirke work nicely, but again I felt the characters suffered from being trimmed right back to the bone.
The set is effective and used well and the over-loud sound effects (not a criticism) conjure the nightmare of life in the trenches wonderfully.
Directorially, I wish Alastair Whatley had pinned his cast’s arms to their sides; there is a good deal of Arm Acting (with capital A’s) from a lot of the cast and I have to say (and this from a man who knows no prudery!) that the nude sex-scene is completely unnecessary to the piece; it adds nothing to the piece except running-time.
Until Saturday, November 9.