CentralDramaFeaturedReview

Birdsong – Birmingham Rep

Reviewer: Skylar Mabry

Writer: Sebastian Faulks

Adaptor: Rachel Wagstaff

Director: Alastair Whatley

Sebastian Faulks’ novel Birdsong was first published in 1993, based on Faulks’ research on the First World TrhWar. It follows the parallel stories of Stephen Wraysford, a solider in WWI, and his descendent who is on a journey to find out more about his life and experiences. With harrowing descriptions of the circumstances faced by soldiers in that time, Birdsong is one of the UK’s most beloved war novels. Original Theatre first produced a stage version of the novel in 2013, and it has been toured and re-released in different forms ever since. The current touring production is a fresh re-write by Rachel Wagstaff, and although this play may have changed over the years, the intensity of this story has not diminished.

This marathon of a play is split into three sections – and therefore three acts, with two intervals, running at just over three hours. Although it is long, it is a worthwhile and poignant way to spend an evening, and even though this story focuses on World War I, there are lessons and morals to be taken that are still relevant to this day.

Act One introduces the characters pre-war, living in Amiens, France. Young Englishman Stephen Wraysford has been sent to France to inspect a factory which is on the brink of collapse and revolt. He is wildly passionate, which ends up landing him in hot water – do be warned, there is full nudity and a quite significant sex scene onstage. This act is full of exposition, so the pacing and dramatic circumstances are slightly inconsistent.

Acts two and three take place during the war, and ratchet up what’s at stake throughout. In addition to following Wraysford, who is now an officer, we are introduced to a band of lovable young men fighting and digging tunnels for the British army. Max Bowden and Tama Phethean are particularly outstanding for their intensely close friendship as two tunnellers in these sections. The play depends on a strong ensemble of actors, who all play multiple roles as well as moving furniture and singing throughout the play – and the multi-rolling accentuates a lovely cyclical aspect of the story.

As previously mentioned, this is an intense play, not fit for family audiences. The war sequences are loud and brutal, forcing the audience to confront the traumatic experience of war head-on. Fans of Sebastian Faulks’ novel may find a few differences as the stage play takes on new life but will surely still find plenty of the original story to be enjoyed in this version. New audiences to this story will be met with tangled love stories, desperately endearing characters, and gut-wrenching, shocking depictions of war and violence. Brought together with a minimalist set design and snatches of chillingly fantastic folk music (James Findlay’s voice is a standout in the show), this production is a feat of modern storytelling and theatre-making which, lest we forget, reminds us of a time when humanity seemed to forget itself.

Director Alastair Whatley says, “The story of Birdsong lives on in the strife still so present around the world, in the struggle experienced by so many on all sides of conflicts, home and abroad, but most of all in the hope that out of the ashes of destruction and human madness all around us, love still – just maybe – has the capacity to conquer all.”

Runs until 1 February 2025 and on tour

The Reviews Hub Score

Love conquers all

Show More
Photo of The Reviews Hub - Central

The Reviews Hub - Central

The Central team is under the editorship of Selwyn Knight. The Reviews Hub was set up in 2007. Our mission is to provide the most in-depth, nationwide arts coverage online.

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Back to top button
The Reviews Hub