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A familiar tale brought up to date by
Iraq war
SOLDIER’S TALE
Old Vic by ILLTYD HARRINGTON
STRAVINSKY is well-served in this retelling of his “opera.”
Post-1918, a soldier returning from war is confronted by a devil.
At his most persuasive the devil offers the war-weary man a
book which contains the secrets of limitless wealth in exchange
for his violin – his soul.
He resists, returning to his native land where he experiences
rejection. Satanic seduction finally wins and the soldier succumbs
to the books of life and the road to insatiable greed. That’s
the bare bones of the tale, but here it is brilliantly conveyed
as a parable for the Iraq war.
We see a band of musicians dressed in First World War uniforms
while narrator Julian Glover-Fitz is stage left. On the right
are a group of Arab musicians and an Arabic narrator Fallah
Al Flayeh. Enter a British and Iraqi soldier, Ciaram McMenanim
and Alla a Rasheed.
The blending of the stories is seamless. As the violin symbolised
European soul it is the oud – the Middle Eastern lute –
that represents the Arab.
Words and music complement each other perfectly and the oud’s
melancholy tone was haunting. The moral of course is still relevant.
Challenging the baser values of our society which constantly
push us away from hard-won truths and our common humanity. Andrew
Steggal directs a cast whose mirror images are not impeded by
different languages. Jan Bausor’s set could be any wrecked
Iraqi town.
In reality, the causes of war as well as the consequences are
carefully hidden or dressed up for us. And that’s what
made the events at the Old Vic so significant. Who are the victors
and who are the vanquished? A challenging but stimulating 90
minutes in the theatre. Well done the Old Vic.
Until Saturday
0870 060 6628 |
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