BRILLIANT songs and loads of laughs laced with poignant messages of sacrifice are heading to a village hall or theatre near you in a superb new production of Joan Littlewood’s fabulous show ‘Oh What a Lovely War’.
Performed by Studley-based Aunty Jen’s Productions – the lockdown project that’s blossomed into a theatrical phenomenon – a unique tie up with the Royal British Legion means the show is reaching parts of the UK that have never experienced the sheer joy the company brings to the stage.
“I do lots of talks to Women Institutes, history societies and the like and one of them was in a Royal British Legion Club, and I thought there’s a logic there, to take a show like ‘Oh What a Lovely War’ to a haven for ex-service men and women,” said Jen Stone, the founder of the company.
And with war and sacrifice on our screens practically every time we switch on the TV these days the show’s message is as resonant today as when it was first performed back in the 1960s.
“Joan Littlewood, who created it, was a fabulous playwright,” said Jen.
“She came up with the idea of bringing people in with something like an end of the pier show for them to sing along to and enjoy but with the subliminal and poignant message of the sacrifices our soldiers made in World War One – and continue to make.
“And of course, it was an instant success.”
The Aunty Jen production stays true to Joan’s original, the performance played against a backdrop of images from the First World War, but in truth, in could be any war being fought today.
The show launches in Wrexham tonight, May 17, in an RBL club before moving to Northampton the following night.
The players then do Honeybourne (May 19) Bridgnorth’s On the Steps Theatre (May 24) Brackley RBL, where they are supporting the Mayor’s charity (May 25), Beoley Village Hall (May 31), Eckington (June 1), Clent (June 2) Blue Orange Theatre in Birmingham on the 80th anniversary of D-Day (June 6), Feckenham Village Hall (June 7) before a rousing return to Studley Sports and Social Club on June 8.
Tickets cost just £13.50 from https://auntyjenproductions.co.uk/.
