Visitors online now:
Total visitors:
Autumn 2011 UK Tour
Blackeyed Theatre in association with South Hill Park,
The Courtyard Centre for the Arts and Greenwich Theatre presents
Joan Littlewood's Musical Entertainment
Oh What A Lovely War
by Theatre Workshop
Director Adrian McDougall
Designer Victoria Spearing
Lighting Designer Oliver Welsh
Orchestration Tom Neill
Costume Design Fiona Davis and Pamela Wiggin
Cast Robert Harding, Ben Harrison,
Joseph Mann, Paul Morse, Tom Neill
Over ninety years on from the Armistice, Oh What A Lovely War remains a classic of
the modern theatre and a powerful reminder of the atrocities of a war that cost twenty
million lives. Told through the songs and documents of the period, it’s a satirical
attack on the military incompetence and inconceivable disregard for human life the
First World War has come to represent and a chilling reminder of man’s inhumanity
to man.
At turns satirical, funny and deeply moving, Oh What a Lovely War has a style
all of its own, combining live music, dance, songs and sketches to create a picture
of life for those on the front line and those behind it. Created and first performed
by Joan Littlewood’s Theatre Workshop in 1963, it received the acclaim of London
audiences and critics, and won the Grand Prix of the Theatre des Nations festival
in Paris the same year. In 1969, a film version was made which extended the play’s
popular success.
Don’t miss Blackeyed Theatre’s revival of its hugely acclaimed production
from 2008, featuring five actor musicians who play, sing and act their way through
one of the greatest satires ever written. Oh What A Lovely War as Joan Littlewood
intended and an unforgettable theatrical experience.
"Wearing waistcoats bedecked with pierrot pompoms, and against a backdrop of horrific newsreel footage and stark white crosses which double as prop stands, a versatile band of five sing, dance, play a variety of instruments, make us laugh and bring us very close to tears"
The Stage