Critical portrayals of life in the armed forces in two West End plays
There are two plays on in London’s West End currently that depict life in the UK military, and they do so critically. There is considerable similarity in the themes of the two plays: why young men join the armed forces, how they are often neglected when injured, and the horror of contemporary war in general.
Our Boys‘, by Jonathan Lewis, at the Duchess Theatre is a revival, having first been performed in 1993. The scene throughout is a ward in Woolwich Military Hospital in 1984. There are six characters, five privates and a potential officer, all in their early-to-mid twenties. Much of the play is light-hearted, the young men joking with and teasing each other to ease their frustrating situation, but there are some poignant moments, and a particularly-powerful ending.
Sandi Toksvig’s Bully Boy is at the St James Theatre. The title comes from the nickname of a unit serving in Iraq which Private Eddie Clark belongs to. He is being investigated by wheelchair-bound Military Police Officer Major Hadley over the alleged murder of an unarmed eight-year-old Iraqi boy during an attack on his unit. In stark contrast to Our Boys it is intense throughout – its funnier moments and scenes only offer partial respite.… Read more