Compelling look at horrors of war

IMMORTAL
Theatre Museum

IMMORTAL asks you to imagine what World War II was actually like.
We see the war through the eyes of five RAF men and an exiled German girl fighting for the resistance.
The men are stuck together in a basement in Holland after their plane was shot down. The girl tries to help them.
Characters reveal their different stories to each other and the combination of their experiences constructs a many-sided picture of warfare.
The cockney soldier’s hatred of Germans is expressed and justified as is the German girl’s horror at the brutal bombing of Hamburg.
Politics is not the focus of the play. This works because it allows us to simply put ourselves in the shoes of other people rather than trying to understand the whole complex war.
At times the script is too sentimental – such as the florid description of the beauty of the planes in the morning.
Generally, however, the character’s stories are believable and moving.
The dialogue works best when it is not romantic. When the men fight with each other or are scared they appear as real people with broken lives.
Matthew Steer plays the straightforward navigator Arthur Gimby skillfully. His performance is mild, so it is effective when he expresses more extreme emotion.
Oliver J Hembrough is convincing as Campbell who is preoccupied with the recent birth of his daughter. He agitatedly walks around the basement throughout as if he wants to run all the way to Dover.
The set is simple and realistic, transporting you to a war-torn Europe. Occasionally a bit sickly sweet, it is compelling.
It gets you to put yourself in the places of people whose lives it is usually very hard to comprehend.
Until June 11
08701 630 717

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