Ilivia Hirst

In this theatre season where commemoration and remembrance of the outbreak of the First World War are much to the fore, many of the most successful dramatic ventures are small-scale. In some ways this fine double-act, written by Martha Shrimpton and Ellie Routledge, and performed by Shrimpton and Olivia Hirst, is the mirror-image of Stony Broke in No Man’s Land, which I reviewed here recently. Both are virtuosic displays of actorly craft, using multiple genres, creating manifold roles, and mixing mood and manner, music and words to create an ineffable and individual blend of humour and pathos. As a result the act of commemoration is made more complex and ultimately, I would say, more moving, than a simple, full-on narrative or historical approach.