Writer and Director: Shaun Wilson
“Not another piece of absurdist theatre that tackles war as comedy,” laments one of the characters in World War Why. It’s one of many knowing nods to a tradition as old as storytelling in a new take of military satire.
It takes a brave production to put war on stage. The history of drama, from Ancient Greece to the present day, is studded with shows about battle. Heroic saga to searing indictment, via angry satire, there isn’t much room to say anything new.
So World War Why?, a new production from Northern School of Art graduate Shaun Wilson is standing in front of some heavy theatrical artillery. And, with a cast of four sharing eight roles, it lacks the forces that might lend Hollywood firepower to the production.
Instead, it has versatility, spirit and a willingness to share its influences openly with its audience in a fast-paced production at Durham Fringe Festival.
The plot takes the topical battle between right and left, and shifts its from politics to right-handed vs left-handed. The action takes place in the ditches of a World War One-style battleground, and in the Generals’ quarters safely to the rear. Blackadder Goes Forth is an obvious touchstone, with a Flashheart-esque ‘Operation Boom Boom Pow’ – hip-thrust and all – setting the early tone before a well-worked homage in the ending. Oh, What a Lovely War! is mentioned in dispatches, and there are little hints of Privates on Parade, It Ain’t Half Hot, Mum, or the Python films along the way.
This Durham performance is only the second outing for the production. Joshua Brown is the only one of the four actors to return from the premiere at the ARC in Stockton last month; here he’s joined by Stephen Lister, Josh Prudence and Sophie Pedlar. The whole cast comes from the Northern School of Art and the young actors deliver a versatile performance throughout, moving effortlessly from front line fears to the arrogance of the officers’ club with nothing more than a necktie to shift the scene.
Clocking in at an hour, the show moves at a good pace – although the sequence about one of the general’s angst over meeting his in-laws dragged a little. And for a work by a 22-year-old writer and director, it has plenty of potential to engage audiences beyond this week’s run at the City Theatre. Wilson is hopeful of taking the production to more venues across the north of England and World War Why? feels like a good fit for fringe drama.
Runs until 30 July 2026
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