James Karas
Oh What a Lovely War
is a unique musical entertainment that receives a stirring production at Shaw
Festival’s Royal George Theatre. The musical
deals with World War I from a particularly Canadian vantage point and it
combines horrifying historical events accompanied by songs mostly from that era
along with some dancing and comic business. Director Peter Hinton and a fine
cast of ten establish a marvelous pace and manage to inform, shock and
entertain us on a grand scale.
Who wrote Oh What a Lovely War? It was first staged in England and the
published script states that it is “by Theatre Workshop, Charles Chilton and
the members of the original cast” meaning the actors of Theatre Workshop. The original
production was “under the direction of Joan Littlewood” but she gets no further
credit. The Shaw Festival gives the legendary Littlewood top billing and adds
Gerry Raffles for his research and then Ted Allen and others for after
treatments. And that is without giving credit to the composers and lyricists of
some thirty songs that make up the bulk of the show. So much for provenance.
Ryan
Cunningham and the ensemble of Oh What a Lovely War. Photo by David Cooper.
Ten actors take on numerous roles as they present a snappy history of
World War I in dialogue, song, dance and generous use of photographs and videos
from 1914 to 1918. Canada’s involvement is emphasized but the production goes
further than that by relating what was happening in Niagara-on-the-Lake at the
time and even more so what was happening at the Royal George Theatre. Fascinating
and splendid work. Incidentally, this year is the 100th anniversary
of the year in which the war ended.
The songs, mostly military tunes, done at a brisk pace and patriotic fervor,
compare bleakly with the constant flow of information and statistics about
battles, casualties and ground gained at the cost of tens and hundreds of thousands
of lives. There were 300,000 casualties in the first 26 days of the war in
August 1914. The figure is updated regularly and it goes into the millions.
From “When Belgium Put the Kibosh on the Kaiser” to “I’ll Make a Man of
You” to “I Want to Go Home” to the title song, we are treated to boisterous performances
of some familiar and some unfamiliar songs. “The Maple Leaf Forever” is
included quite rightly.
There is an outstanding collection of photographs and videos showing all
horrible aspects of the war and we have descriptions as well. Negroes were not
allowed to enlist until they were permitted in as second class soldiers. Canadian
natives were allowed to serve and they did with distinction. After the war,
they were not entitled to pensions or medical benefits. The wounded are treated
by rank and not by the severity of their wounds. Medical care for enlisted men
is almost an afterthought while officers are placed at the front of the line.
We see martinets barking at soldiers and there is a memorable scene
where the military brass of the day is satirized and indeed ridiculed. Sir John
French, Sir William Robertson, Sir Henry Wilson, Sir Douglas Haig and other
officers are shown dancing and backbiting each other as they jockey for
position and display their incompetence. Haig lies to us and perhaps to himself
as he plans an offensive against the German lines and treats soldiers as so
many numbers on a page. The result of course was the slaughter of hundreds of
thousands.
The musical at its core is music hall entertainment but its documentary
aspect, the extensive use of video, and the superlative performances place it
much above that genre of popular entertainment.
Paul Sportelli provided the musical direction for the numerous songs
while Howard J. Davis was responsible for the extraordinary projections. The
cast consisted of David ball, Ryan Cunningham, James Daly, Kristi Frank, Jeff
Irving, Allan Louis, Marla McLean, Kiera Sangster, Jacqueline Thair, and Jenny
L. Wright.
A major achievement for the Shaw Festival.
___________
Oh What a Lovely War by Joan Littlewood, Theatre Workshop, Charles
Chilton and many others continues in repertory until October 13, 2018 at the Royal
George Theatre, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario. www.shawfest.com.
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