Many have tried to combine the joy of life with the horrors of war on stage yet few have achieved it with the same aplomb as Private Peaceful.
Encapsulating the final hours of Tommo Peaceful as he awaits the firing squad, this beautiful play captures the magical innocence of youth and transposes them on the terrors of the Somme. Told in Tommo’s own exuberant style, the story recounts his childhood development and follows him through his underage induction into combat, to his ultimate downfall.
His tales of schoolyard bullying, games and young love are touching in themselves but positively sing with Paul Chequer’s exemplary delivery. While seemingly innocuous, little details from each tale hark to Tommo’s war torn future (“I used to love the feel of mud between my toes”) and add a chilling reminder of the hellish nature of trench warfare. As the stories progress Chequer’s delivery matures and his physicality reduces as the war takes its toll and we are left with a young man degraded past the point of caring, yet proud enough to stand is ground in the face of idiocy.
Even though the end is inevitable, Tommo’s story is strong enough to inspire hope in divine intervention and the finale still comes as a devastating blow.
Private Peaceful is a masterful work and is undoubtedly one of the best pieces of theatre in Edinburgh this August. It will inspire smiles, anger and sadness in roughly that order, leaving you drained at the end but ultimately you will walk away amazingly satisfied.
5/5
Richard Biggs
