The Grange Players
Presents
Heroes
By Gerald Sibleyras
Translated and Adapted by Tom Stoppard
Directed by Dexter Whitehead and Rosemary Manjunath
18th - 27th May 2017
Heroes is set in 1959 on the terrace of a home for veterans in France. It follows the antics of World War one veterans Henri (Paul Viles), Gustave (Andrew Tomllinson) and Philippe (Robert Onions).
The play was originally called 'The Wind in The Poplars' and was translated and renamed by Tom Stoppard. It was first performed in 2005 at the Wyndham's Theatre.
This was a gentle play, with the characters spending their time discussing the nuns that run the home, the other residents and planning a journey to 'escape' and see the poplar trees that they could see in the distance from their terrace.
This was a gentle play, with the characters spending their time discussing the nuns that run the home, the other residents and planning a journey to 'escape' and see the poplar trees that they could see in the distance from their terrace.
Each character had its own sadness. Henri had a gammy leg, Gustave suffered from agoraphobia and Philippe kept passing out due to having a piece of shrapnel lodged in his brain. This however, did not make it a sad tale. We had fun and laughter throughout with extremely funny lines and situations. It was beautifully written to make the audience aware of the hard reality of war but not getting bogged down by the grim details, so you left feeling entertained, uplifted at how resilient human being are, and with a grin on your face.
The staging of this production was lovely with lots of detail. You had a light, bright terrace with 3 chairs. It was elegant and didn't take over from the action on stage.
Paul Viles was a wonderful Henri. He limped across the stage and tried to keep order throughout. His facial expressions and tone created great comic moments.
Robert Onions gave a gentle, poignant portrayal of Philippe. He had a lovely, touching moment where he was talking about how he wanted to be a pianist before the war. Not wanting to dampen the audiences mood, you then had him saying that after the war he couldn't follow his dream as it would be difficult to be a pianist when he kept passing out.
Andrew Tomlison needs to have a special mention as Gustave. He took over the part only a few weeks before the start of the show due to the original cast member having to pull out. He portrayed the character with the brash confidence of a war veteran and really made the character his own.
The three of them together gave a first class performance but we shouldn't forget the forth member of the cast - the stone dog, who was there throughout the performance. He sat upright and Philippe would often think that he moved. He was often included in the conversations and was even going to go with the three veterans on their journey to the Poplar trees!
This performance of Heroes was extremely well directed by Dexter Whitehead and Rosemary Manjunath and is well worth a watch as it leaves you feeling proud of what people went through to make our County the best in the World - We should never forget what could have been!
The play runs until 27th May 2017
The Grange
Broadway North
Walsall
West Midlands
WS1 2QB
Box Office: 07909 036 835
Theatre: 01922 625 100
Website: www.grangeplayers.co.uk
The Grange
Broadway North
Walsall
West Midlands
WS1 2QB
Box Office: 07909 036 835
Theatre: 01922 625 100
Website: www.grangeplayers.co.uk
