Birdsong
Although this routine adaptation of Sebastian Faulk’s bestselling 1990 novel
held my attention throughout the three hour running time, I was never
completely convinced by the passionate affair framing its depiction of life
in the trenches.
Projected images facilitate rapid scene changes in Trevor
Nunn’s efficient production as, in 1910, Ben Barnes’ personable young
Englishman Stephen falls in love with the unhappy wife of his brutal French
host. War devastates the idyllic landscape of their secret riverside trysts
and damages the increasingly isolated Stephen as he marshals his men at the
Somme. But it’s a superb Lee Ross who steals the acting honours with his
honest portrayal of working class sapper Jack, worrying about his son dying
of diphtheria back home, whilst tunnelling deep beneath no-man’s-land
towards the German lines.
3/5
Comedy, Panton Street, SW1Y 4DN
0844 871 2118
Tube: Piccadilly Circus
Until 15th
January
£20 – £49.50
Review: Louise Kingsley
