Theatre / Reviews
Review: Private Peaceful, Tobacco Factory
100 years ago young men from towns and villages across the UK were joining up to fight for King and country in what was known as the Great War, the war to end all wars.
That large finger of Lord Kitchener pointing directly towards you. It was your duty.
But as Tom Peaceful said even before he saw a Sergeant Major recruiting in the market square, he didn’t know what an Archduke was and he couldn’t point to Sarajevo on a map.
Tom Peaceful soon enough became Private Peaceful, however, and went to war.
When we first meet him, however, it is the night before he is due to be executed by firing squad for cowardice – something that happened to 300 Commonwealth soldiers between 1914 and 1918.
In a riveting and compelling solo performance, William Troughton took us through some of the most important moments in Tom’s life, from the death of his father to the first time he saw a girl naked, all of the while being looked over by his older brother Charlie
It is a feat of endurance for Troughton, who keeps the story moving at a cracking pace, chapters beginning as he glances at his watch while the hours tick down to his execution.
Michael Morpurgo’s story may be simplistic at times, but this was originally a book for children which has been adapted and directed by Simon Reade and returns to Bristol 10 years after it was first staged in the Old Vic studio.
While the first half led us to where Tom now finds himself, the second half is almost entirely set in France, as a bed’s springs become the barbed wire of no man’s land.
We also experience the claustrophobia and suffocating fear of the trenches, helped by some clever lighting and sound design by Howard Hudson and Jason Barnes.
Private Peaceful is a glimpse into a mostly unknown story, and it is told here with subtlety, courage and determination.
Private Peaceful is at the Tobacco Factory Theatre until July 12. Visit www.tobaccofactorytheatres.com/shows/detail/private_peaceful/ for tickets and more information.
Photos by Farrows Creative
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