A Timely reminder of the horrors of conflict

Posted on 10th November 2023

It was nearly one hundred years ago that RC Sherriff’s extraordinary treatise on life in the trenches was first performed in the West End. And yet, in both its language and sensibilities, Roughcast’s staging of Journey’s End was a timely reminder of its relevance to our own troubled times.

The play is set entirely within a dugout, on the days leading up to a major German offensive. Mark Burridge’s simple but effective set design contributed to the unbearably claustrophobic atmosphere that builds throughout the play, as officers squabble, reminisce, joke and eat the hours away.  A fine ensemble cast offered up clearly defined individuals, without ever lapsing into caricature. Peter Long and Paul Baker, as foot soldier and Colonel, brought their experience on stage to bear, provided exactly the sort of reliable support you would expect from them. Keith Charman and Rollo Bacon represented the contrast between the social classes, as well as between experience and youth, with a touching authenticity. Bruce Alcorn was particularly effective in his nuanced portrait of a soldier afraid, eliciting sympathy for a man that might so easily be seen as a coward. What most distinguished this production, however, was Mark Burridge’s economic direction of the cast, not least of his own understated performance. The relationship between Osborne and Stanhope is at the heart of this play, and it would have been all too easy to make them stereotypical archetypes. On the contrary, his Uncle Osbourne was performed with a lightless of touch, while Joe Edwards-Gill deftly avoided lazy, drunken mannerisms, and instead presented, with masterly assurance, a decent man simply at the end of his tether.

Striking in its modernity and compelling in its narrative, this was an ambitious play for the group to have tackled. Thankfully, outstanding performances and acutely observed atmosphere combined to honour both the playwright’s intentions and those that served.