REVIEW of HEROES The Play

Heroes - The Play

by Gerald Sibleyras (original title 'Le Vent des Peupliers') 2003

Translated by Tom Stoppard 2005


This Production by Chatsworth Players Summer 2021 - Directed by Lindsay Jackson

stage prop from HEROES by Chatsworth Players 2021
photograph Debra Hall

Chris Pawley (Henri), Barrie Goodwin (Gustave), Tim Warburton (Philippe) 
photograph source: Chatsworth Players  https://bit.ly/2WJnuAD

REVIEW ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

This touring production of 'Heroes' is the Chatsworth Player's first open-air theatre production. A tentative dipping of the toes into the performance waters again, after Covid, and the lifting of restrictions. 

Heroes has a cast of just three (a stone dog being the fourth protagonist), minimising the numbers of performers required for the company's first live production since the staging of A Christmas Carol, 2019 . 

'Heroes' -  the play at The Whitworth Centre, Derbyshire
Photograph: Debra Hall

One variable is the weather, and the two dates scheduled at The Whitworth Centre in Darley Dale, had to be transferred indoors following exceptionally, heavy rain and the water logging of the lower park grounds on Friday.

The park grounds at the Whitworth Centre, Derbyshire
Photograph by Debra Hall

This is a comedy with so much heart. The three ole boys meet daily on the terrace of the retirement home for ex-soldiers. The pragmatic, Henri (Chris Pawley) includes (in his daily routine) a walk away from the home despite having a lame leg. Henri is...the realist.

Whereas, Gustave (Barrie Goodwin) is the rebel in the camp. He is the cutting one, the one with the controlling personality. He is the pessimist. Nevertheless, it is all a front really, because Gustave has lived the fullest life of the three. Yet his bravado is only on the face of things. Gustave is the biggest dreamer, but the most fearful. 

As for Philippe (Tim Warburton) he is the peace keeper, he is the easy going one with a cheeky side, though, sadly, he lives with shrapnel embedded in his skull which causes him to have frequent black-outs. 

Now picture the characteristics of these three residents and imagine them as young men fighting on the front-line, WWI. This is what the writing cleverly demonstrates. In our minds' eye we can almost match the three personalities and place them as youngsters caught up in terrible conflict. We can almost imagine the three lost souls living in hell almost, and how they, as individuals, coped or did not cope whichever the case. This play is simply a juxtaposition of these men in place and time, one side is presented and one imagined. If the lines weren't so amusing, it is enough to make you weep.

Of course, you go see a play like this and you're not expecting a scene bursting production, nevertheless the delicacy of this story is quite breathtaking. How best to tell a story about three WWI survivors, now veterans in a home in the late 1950s? Well, firstly, it's the award-winning script that is masterful playwriting Also, the no fuss direction and the pared down production, plus three players embodying the three characters wonderfully. 

We see the men's mental and physical scars left over from army service. We see their passions as well as their anxieties laid bare, but, mostly, we see their dreams and expectations diminishing, all of it in ways that are sad but humorous at the same time - that's the clever bit. Lovely work!

**ENDS**

Review by Theatre Critic, Debra Hall who attended the performance of HEROES as a press guest on Saturday 31 August, at The Whitworth Centre, Derbyshire

Saturday Evening at the Whitworth Centre
Photograph by debra hall

The War Memorial at the Whitworth Centre Park and Grounds,  Darley Dale.
photograph by debra hall 

REFERENCES

The Chatsworth Players (2021) Printed Programme Heroes 

ONLINE

Facebook.com  Chatsworth Players https://www.facebook.com/chatsworthplayers/photos/a.324850547855787/1563312597342903/