Review: Private Resistance - Grapevine Magazine

Review of 'Private Resistance', presented by Eastern Angles by Steve Hawthorne

Expectations can be a dangerous thing. Look forward to something too much and it often disappoints. Being very interested in WW2 history, including the mix of fact and speculation that constitutes the 'What if..?' genre, I had greeted the announcement of Private Resistance, a drama set during a supposed German invasion of Britain in 1940,as this year's Eastern Angles Spring Tour with some excitement. However as the day of the performance drew near I started to think of my own 'what ifs..?

'What if it's historically inaccurate?' 'What if it's full of clichés?' 'What if it's simply preposterous, a hideous combination of Allo, Allo and a Rambo film?' I needn't have worried. The history as it happened is well researched and that which is imagined based upon this research, the clichés such as they exist are well judged and likeable, and it's funnier than Allo, Allo and more exciting than Rambo.            

Private Resistance wastes little time in getting going; a brief introduction to the characters and suddenly the Nazi's have landed. From that point the whole of Act 1 is suffused with a sense of urgency which director Naomi Jones deftly keeps just on the right side of frantic. A genuine sense of peril is created, not just by the action but also by the excellent cast who, without exception, seemed entirely of the period and whose jeopardy engages from a very early point. Regular radio bulletins from the BBC punctuate the action, heightening the overbearing feeling of hopelessness and diminishing time. One in particular 'The German's have succeed in crossing the Thames at Dagenham and are now surrounding Chelmsford' actually made me physically shiver; it sounded as though it could have come from a sound archive rather than having been recorded for the play.            

This pace and sense of urgency isn't continued into Act 2 which is set in 1944 and whilst that is initially disappointing given the narrative ride we've had during Act 1 a change of tone and the tension which is created whilst we wait for events to unfold allows for more character development and a calmness to settle before the tragic breaking of the storm which has been signalled from the very opening of Act 1. What is perhaps most remarkable about Private Resistance is that it manages to convey action, excitement and a sense of events happening on a grander scale from a set restricted to not much more than a kitchen. I say not much more, there is more, in fact a whole lot more but it is not immediately obvious and I for one had not twigged so that when the reveal occurred, it was a real delight. I triumph of simplicity by set designer Fabrice Serafino.            

Remarkable too, given the play's subject matter, is the lack of Germans. Not one jackboot strides onto the stage nor one cod-German accent deliver a clichéd, commando comic derived line. The decision not to write any German characters into the plot is a master stroke by Ivan Cutting and yet their threat hangs over the action and their shadow constantly lurks on the perimeters of the stage. Naomi Jones' direction must again be credited here and the decision by Ivan Cutting, for I believe the first time, not to direct something he has written entirely pays off. Don't be fooled either into thinking that PR is entirely an historical piece; the remarks about the danger to the future of the NHS under the Germans and the contradiction of Tom's early assertion that 'we're all in this together,' with 'no we're not, we're all on our own,' added a lightly subversive note which I entirely enjoyed.            

Where PR also differs from previous Spring Tours is in the lack of characters. Usually the cast are charged with playing two, three or even four different parts. This has only occasionally presented a problem but the lack of changes did seem to allow the cast to inhabit the skins of their characters a little more. Only one actor, Phil Pritchard, is forced to play two parts which he does with great distinction between the two. Frances Marshall and Bishanyia Vincent both engage, presenting two different facets of womanhood and two different coping mechanisms; Fred Lancaster's transformation from eager teenager to experienced resistance organiser simply through a change of hairstyle and tone by the actor is very good and the quiet ambiguity in Matt Addis' performance as Tom, organiser of the resistance cell but also local beneficiary of the Nazi occupation was nicely judged and had me believing he would turn out to be a collaborator.            

If PR falls down anywhere it is that the finale does not quite pay-off as the emotional crescendo I was hoping for but that did not detract greatly from my enjoyment of it. I was enthralled enough by that point to forgive it almost anything. The final comment belongs to a member of the audience old enough to have lived through the time depicted. At the end of the performance I asked him what he thought. 'I'm not sure what I think about that,' he said, 'that's brought up a lot of stuff.'

Private Resistance, engaging, affecting. Don't resist, go and see it!

The tour continues until 20^th May. Go to www.easternangles.co.uk or www.grapevinelive.co.uk for dates and ticket info.