The story of two brothers growing up at the brink of World War I is brought to life here as one man reminisces from a prison cell.
Breathless and unrestrained emotion characterises this earnestly delivered diary. The portrait of his thoughts is an incessant string of anecdotes, and by his introvert, anxious presence in contrast to his brother’s exuberance he sets himself up as a sympathetic stooge. His life is an unbroken tragedy of heartbreak and misery at the hands of others, yet he’s too courageous and resilient to be a mere loser.
The memories are framed as he speaks from his cell, awaiting execution for cowardice for staying behind with his wounded brother. Despite being a tale of adolescent lust and adult brutality, this is an excellent play for introducing children to the Great War, as reflected by the composition of the audience. However this accessibility has taken the dramatic edge off of his epically sad end — his noble death should carry far more weight than it actually does, given the ongoing sacrifice that was his life.
The backstory is a by-the-numbers effort — you can almost picture the list being ticked off as the play was written. It’s still very good, just derivative and hackneyed. As each stage of his life unravels in too-perfectly-apt-to-be-true sequence his nicely-rounded existence becomes somewhat predictable. Not that this matters — potboiler or not this is an excellent family drama.
4/5 
Bernie Greenwood
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