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If History is about digging into the past, then literature digs into the soul, exposing what it is to be human at the best and worst of times. Sebastian Faulks’ Birdsong, his harrowing exploration of WWI, does all of that and more, and Rachel Wagstaff’s stage adaption of the novel was brought brilliantly to life – and the Wellington stage – under Nick Huntington’s imaginative and sensitive direction.
The action moves between pre-war Amiens and the nightmare of the Somme, following Stephen Wraysford’s doomed love affair with Isabelle Azaire – and his attempt to find meaning among the carnage of the battlefields. Ralph M’s Stephen was sensational, his emotional range extraordinary, fluctuating between passion, anger, and ultimate despair: above all, like Stephen’s, it was a brave performance, his final words ‘I don’t know if we can still call ourselves human’ resonating far beyond the final curtain. Cressida M-C was simply outstanding as Isabelle: torn between duty to husband, lover, and future generations she gave the spellbound audience both moments of hope and tragic disappointment. Theo B and Harry W, as the two sappers, provided much depth to the production, not only detailing the lived experience of innocents embroiled in slaughter, but also revealing the claustrophobic truth of the forgotten war fought underground: they were both excellent. Harry E’s Captain Grey was carefully observed, especially so his haunting and prophetic hymn on the eve of the Somme, while Felix Z-F’s Monsieur Azaire and Vanessa T’s Jeanne Fourmentier were full of intelligent nuance. Izzy M, Luca T and Lucy O played Madame Berard, Evans, and Lisette with real understanding, but it was perhaps Rufus P’s young Michael Tipper, the 15 year old, which best brought home the reality of life in the trenches: his gradual disintegration from proud volunteer to quivering suicide immaculately rendered, almost impossible to bear.
This was an outstanding production in every way, the imaginative set, lighting and soundscape all highlighting the human tragedy of those caught up in this war to end all wars. Congratulations to all involved in what was perhaps the most daringly ambitious production yet seen on the Wellington stage – and which was most certainly its most successful.
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